For Blue Skies
by CurbItKirby
Summary: Tony Stark makes it his mission to hook Coulson up with Bruce's lab assistant. Meanwhile Bruce helps an agent work through her anger issues. Coulson/OC, Bruce/OC.
1. Trouble Begins

The as agent smirked the elevator doors opened. A petite brunette stood inside, as she did every day and Agent Phil Coulson nodded to her as he stepped inside "Miss Cale."

"Agent," Zita Cale inclined her head, the typical shy smile graced her lips. Her lab coat was wrinkled and the sweater she wore underneath ill fitting; something she was acutely aware of now that she was in the presence of his finely pressed suit and suave sunglasses.

It was because of the latter she didn't notice his gaze slipping to the load in her arms. They were filled with books, strange science stuff he had no interest in. Despite this though, he smiled at her. "Getting ready for Dr. Banner's return I see."

Zita's pale cheeks tinged a light pink. "He's the leading expert in his field, I just thought I should be prepared, in case he's made any recent discoveries."

"I can see that." Coulson replied, taking little over half the stack from her. "But this isn't exactly light reading."

She offered him a lopsided grin and a weak shrug of her slight shoulders. "I don't mind."

A fond chuckle escaped his throat as the elevator dinged. "You are one of a kind."

"Thanks," the woman brightly smiled, however it dwindled as he stepped out. "I think. You have my-"

"You don't need all this," The agent told her, foot sticking out to stop the elevator from closing off their conversation. His lips twitched with amusement at her pout, something he found to be very cute. "You'll be fine, Zee."

Zita's excited grin returned, showing off impossibly straight white teeth. "Thank you, Agent Coulson."

He let the door shut and as the woman was once again alone she sighed, hugging the considerably smaller stack to her chest as she all but swooned.

Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched by a horribly bored Tony Stark. Everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D knew by now that the words _Stark_ and _bored_ should never, under any circumstances, be considered anything short of dangerous.

Tony had not set about his day planning on playing matchmaker. No, that was usually Pepper's MO, but as he stared at the image of Bruce's favourite little lab assistant fawning over his favourite snarky agent, he felt inspired. He had always liked Zita – although he did find her a bit boring at times, she was a lot of fun to watch once you got her excited about something – but he had always found her a bit lonely; a little too introspective and meek for her own good. Tony would be willing to bet money that a good man could change that.

And Coulson was just the smart mouthed bastard to do it.

A devious grin spread across his lips as he chuckled. His fingers rose to his digital keyboard and began to fiddle with the pair's work schedules. This was gonna be good.

Two levels down from the excited genius, a meeting was taking place between a lone agent and the director.

Nick Fury was the epitome of calm as he sat down across from the young agent. He spared her a glance, took out her file (which had scattered underlines of red and black) and looked over it as he spoke. "I hear you set Stark's car on fire today."

"He started it." Niobe Jemzen replied off the cuff. She hadn't even bothered to look surprised by the statement. Just crossed a long leg over her knee.

"Parking in your spot is not starting it, Agent Jemzen."

A smirk tugged at her mouth, but she didn't argue. "What's it matter? It's not like he can't just buy another one."

"I'd like to talk to you about your anger issues." The director told her, fingers intertwining on her file as he frowned.

"I thought you hired me because of my anger issues." Niobe shot back. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively, but her tone had been light – almost mockingly so. Fury eyed her a moment before speaking. Niobe may have been a beautiful woman, with sharp features and a lithe body, but there had always been a distant coolness to her dark eyes that had made him a bit wary.

"No, I hired you because of your exclusive skill set. The anger was just a bonus; but that was when you were in control."

Her ebony features became grim. With a sneer, she said, "I'd say I'm controlling it pretty well right now, _sir_."

Fury ignored her aggression. Niobe had never exactly been the most social of people, but she had always been able to keep herself composed. In the last couple of months, that had changed. She had distanced herself from the organization, started taking on side jobs, and had become cagey and disrespectful. Fury had a good idea why that was, and frankly, it worried him. "I'd like you to work with Dr. Banner-"

"The green guy?" Her brows raised slightly, a hint of scepticism in her otherwise even tone.

"His dual personality is the Hulk, yes, to gain some control over it." He corrected.

"And if I refuse?" Agent Jemzen asked, her expression returning to its original muted state.

"Desk duty."

Her dark brown eyes glinted under the harsh light. "Fine; but if he squishes me, I'm filing a grievance."

"That's fine. You'll report to Dr. Banner this afternoon."

"I thought he was in Cambodia?" _Helping orphaned puppies no doubt_, her mind added with amusement, but her full lips stayed tightly pursed.

"Today's his first day back," Fury explained. "He's kindly agreed to help you with your aggression." He smirked at her, "I expect you to treat him with the respect he deserves."

_Yeah_, Niobe thought bitterly, _guy fries himself with radiation and turns himself into a giant rage monster. That warrants a lot of respect. _"I will."

"One p.m., sharp, Jemzen." The director nodded and motion for her to go, "You are dismissed."


	2. Tony Plots

Tony smirked to himself while he listened to Zita prattle on about Bruce's unique molecular structure and how amazing it was and he _had_ to let her take another sample, oh please, the last one got contaminated when she put it in the microwave, for science of course and-

He snickered to himself, earning a glance from Bruce that told him _this situation was not funny and if he couldn't be nice to the little lab assistant than he could just leave_. Tony knew that's what that glance met because he had received that lecture before. Several times, actually. He popped another Skittle in his mouth, chewing it absently; he looked over at the clock on the wall.

1:05 – Niobe was late.

Just as the thought entered his mind, the agent entered the lab. Tony had met Agent Jemzen face to face on a total of three times, none of which had ended particularly well – in fact, all three times had ended under the threat of violence. Usually by her hand and were unique and menacing enough to have him cowering behind Pepper for mercy… mind you, he would continue to make degrading comments from behind his blonde shield- uh, _girlfriend_, because, well, it was too much fun to pass up the chance to make Jemzen a little huffy.

Tony was fairly certain that was why Miss Potts liked the S.H.I.E.L.D agent so damn much. In truth, although he wouldn't ever admit it, even under the threat of death, Tony kind of liked her too. Their mutual hate made for some entertaining banter.

He popped another Skittle in his mouth and pointed an accusing finger at the tall woman. "You owe me a Lexus."

"You owe the general public an STI test." Niobe snapped back at him.

He smirked at her. "I missed you too, sweet cheeks." Tony motioned to his chest dramatically, "Missed your warmth."

The agent's hand went to her gun; the playboy blew her a kiss.

The man behind Stark cleared his throat. He shook a hand at her and told her, "No guns in the lab, please."

Niobe glanced from Bruce to the small assistant beside him. Her eyes drifted back to Banner's, her pretty features taut she told him, "I'd really feel better with it."

"Well, he'd really feel better without it so why don't I just-" Tony paused in his attempt to reach for it. Her sharp eyes had stopped him. The look she was giving him almost sent a chill down the billionaire's spine. His brows rose. "-Or not. You could just keep it in case Zita goes off the handle or something…"

"It's more the good doctor I'm worried about." Niobe kept her hand on it as she glanced at Banner. "If you don't mind too terribly, the gun stays."

Bruce clenched his jaw slightly, a telltale heat of anger rising under his skin at the idea of the woman threatening his friends. "Just keep it where it is."

She nodded, and her dark eyes flickered across the lab. Out of the corner of her gaze, she saw Stark make a few loops with his finger at his temple. She suppressed a smirk at the childish gesture.

Feeling the need to break the tension, the lab assistant quickly crossed the room. "Hi, Agent Jemzen, how are you?"

"Fine, thanks." Niobe had met the tiny assistant a few times and while she tended to be friendly, Zita didn't really register on her radar too much.

"We just need to perform a few tests," Zita continued to smile, as if the woman hadn't threatened to shoot one of her bosses in the face only moments ago. "You know, blood pressure, respiratory, that kind of thing."

Niobe nodded and followed the smaller brunette into a curtained area.

"Chica a mucho loco, compadre." Tony told his friend as a wide grin stretched over his lips. "Great legs though."

"Hm." Bruce frowned pensively. His brown eyes didn't leave the silhouette behind the curtain. He was already beginning to regret his decision. He had said yes not so much because he had wanted to, but because Fury himself had called him. If it had been just an agent, he probably would've refused. Banner frowned as he watched the taller woman hop up on the bed behind the thin paper curtain.

But all his friend noticed was the attention Bruce was paying to the beautiful but half-cocked Niobe. Tony side-stepped his way closer to his bookish friend, no way could Tony pass up yet another opportunity to show off his match making skills. Dear god, he was like cupid. This shit was just falling into his lap today. "A little bit of a loose cannon. A little dangerous…"

Banner offered him a bemused smirk. "Uh…yeah, I saw that."

"You could really help her get to know herself." _And you could get to know what the inside of her mouth tastes like,_ Tony's perverse mind added as he grinned.

To Bruce, the man looked down right maniacal. "What're you planning?" He asked apprehensively.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing. Did I mention I'm throwing a party this weekend?"

Thrown by the sudden change in topic, Bruce blinked. "Uh, no I don't think you did."

"It'll be great! I'm inviting most of S.H.I.E.L.D!" And by most of, he meant a total of maybe five to seven people. Stark continued to smile, "It'll be great!"

"Yeah, you mentioned that…look, Tony, I'm not real sure about being around a bunch of drunken armed people…"

"What? No!" Tony shook his head, expression becoming almost offended. "It's going to be a very friendly, intimate affair."

Banner stared at him with confused disbelief. "But you just said…"

"I know what I said! I'll have two parties! At two different locations! The S.H.I.E.L.D heads can go to one and we, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, can have a smaller one! A _better_ one! With less booze and more food. What d'ya say?"

Bruce swallowed. "That's too much to ask, Tony. Have your party, I'll just-"

"Damn it, Banner! I want to hang out with my friends!" Tony yelled, knowing how to play the guilt card well enough by now with the scientist. He even slammed his hand down on the table for effect. "And it won't be the same without you and your hunky self! Now, say you'll come or I'm calling this whole thing off and I'll sit at home-"

"Okay." Bruce agreed, a bit touched by the man's plea…and maybe just a little bit concerned by the fact that the Iron Man had just called him _hunky_ so casually. Maybe things were bad at home... or he was off the wagon, it was kind of hard to tell with Tony.

"And eat a can of beans while-"

"Tony, I said yes."

"The agents stand outside in the cold-"

Bruce shook his head and returned to what he was doing. A small grin tugged at his lips as he reminded Tony, "It's July."

"And plead for me to- wait, did you say you'd come?"

"Yeah."

"Awesome! I'll start making the arrangements!" Tony slapped him on the back and made to run out of the lab. He stopped just outside the door, "Oh! And make sure to invite our favourite little ball of sunshine! I've got big plans for her."

With that he was gone, leaving Bruce to stare at the empty space his friend had once occupied. _What the hell did I just witness?_ The man rubbed his brow. His eyes slipped over to where the women were talking in low tones. _And just what the hell have I gotten myself into this time?_

Meanwhile, Tony was racing through the hallway, looking desperately for anyone with a vagina- well, anyone with a vagina he knew, of course. No dice. So he settled for the next best thing.

"_Oh Captain, my Captain!" _

Steve Rogers glanced over at the flamboyant man as he sauntered into the gym. Wiping sweat from his brow, he asked, "Everything alright?"

"Fine! In fact," Tony moved around to the other side of the punching bag Steve had been pummelling and held it. A handsome smile lit up the smaller man's face as he went on, "I'm throwing a party, and I want you to come."

Steve cocked a brow as he unravelled the tape from his knuckles. "Oh? What's the occasion?"

"Since when do I need an occasion?"

The American hero shot him a disproving look. Tony heaved a sigh in response. "Well, I guess it could be Bruce's home coming gift. Look, I need your help."

"With what?" Steve asked curiously as he made his way over to his bag. Pulling out a towel, he wiped the sweat from his brow. A weary smile touched his lips as he joked, "I don't really think I'm the one to go to for party advice."

"I don't need party advice, I was born with nothing short of style, grace and good taste in music. That makes me Party King." Stark told him quite seriously. "No, I need help wooing a woman."

"What about Pepper?" His friend asked, disapproval once again lacing his strong features.

Tony rolled his eyes; he really had to stop hanging out with squares. "It's not for me. How would you go about…wooing a sweet young maiden, Rogers?"

A faint blush crossed Steve's features. "I'm really not the one you should be talking to about this."

"Why not? Chicks dig that old timey gentleman crap." The modern man replied with a confidant bob of his shoulders. He pulled away from the punching bag. "Normally I'd go to Pep about this kind of thing, but I want to keep this one on the down low."

"Oh…well, I guess I'd just ask her out."

Tony blinked. "I can't decide if you're messing with me or not, so I'll rephrase; I want to get my friend laid, how do I do it without being considered totally creepy and or perverted?"

"Have you tried going about it in a non-creepy or perverted way?"

"No, of course not."

Steve shook his head and was tempted to sigh at the smaller man but Tony just looked too damned earnest. "Can I at least ask who this friend is?"

"There are several involved in my schemes at the moment." The playboy waved off his friend's surprise as he went on, "All of which are totally helpless in making any romantic progress with their intended ladyloves."

"It's not me, is it?"

Tony smirked, "I'm not at liberty to say."

Steve glared at him. "It better not be me."

"I make no promises. Now, about the wooing-"

"Look, Stark, I told you, I'm not good with this stuff." The larger man ignored Tony's opened mouthed indignity as he began to walk away from him. Glancing over his shoulder, Steve called out, "Why don't you try and find something they have in common?"

Tony frowned a moment before his eyes lit up. But Steve was already gone before he could announce his wonderful plan. Annoyed but not surprised with his lack of audience, he made his way back upstairs. He had some investigating to do.

**A/N: Okay, I probably won't be updating for a couple days. I know, I suck, but I have school ya know**.


	3. Steve and Niobe are Worried

Upstairs, Bruce had offered Niobe a chair to sit in while Zita took some of his blood.

The woman watched as the pixie-like brunette drew the red liquid from the man's arm, and Niobe had to admit, she was a bit surprised it wasn't green. Her expression did not betray her, however, and her features remained disinterested as Banner spoke.

"So, did you not want to see a psychiatrist, or…?" He shrugged his shoulders, his gaze directed at the stranger slouched in the chair.

"I didn't want to see anyone." She replied, watching as Zita unwrapped the rubber tubing from Bruce's arm and scurried over to the other end of the lab. "Fury made me."

The doctor blinked. "Oh." The director hadn't mentioned that. "Well, I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

She let out a hum of acknowledgement, but said nothing. Bruce found it a touch unnerving. His gaze flickered over her tight uniform and high ponytail, both of which aided to her harsh appearance. Swallowing, he hopped off the hospital bed and nodded. "Shall we head to my office?"

The idea of being in a confined space with the Hulk didn't exactly sit well with Niobe, but she nodded regardless. She stood from the chair and noted she was about an inch taller than him, but didn't comment on it as she followed him out of the room. Zita waved goodbye to them, then quickly went back to her microscope. Niobe didn't spare her so much as a glance, but Bruce inclined his head indulgently.

He ushered her into his office. It was small, cluttered with papers and books, but well lit and smelt clean. The large cherry wood desk took up most of the room.

"Did they stick you in a broom closet?" Niobe asked. She felt a bit nervous about being in such a confined space, much less with a man known to triple in size and gain superhuman strength at the drop of a hat. Her voice did not give away her thoughts and she was thankful when the comment was delivered coolly.

Bruce glanced at her as he made his way over to his desk. "No, I asked for it. Smaller space makes me feel more in control."

The woman swept her gaze over the mess. "I see."

They stood together in awkward silence a moment before the doctor cleared his throat, "Well, why don't you take a seat?"

She did. Bruce cleared his throat and sat down behind the desk. For a few moments, they only stared at one another. Banner seemed a touch unsettled, which of course, made Niobe a bit more lax; at least she wasn't the only one uncomfortable.

She offered him a pointed look as she asked, "How was Cambodia?"

"Hot," Bruce told her with a bit of exasperation, "and humid."

The corner of her lip twitched with amusement, but other than that the agent gave no response.

Banner cleared his throat and asked why exactly she was here.

"They say I have rage issues."

"Yes," He chuckled, "I know, but I mean, what're you having trouble with specifically?"

Jemzen cocked her head slightly. "My rage?"

The man smirked and shook his head. "No, I mean, like are you having trouble with control? Trouble sleeping? Getting along with people?"

"Yes."

"Yes to what?"

"All of the above."

Bruce blinked at her. "Seriously?"

A nod.

"Okay, then, I guess we better get started." He cleared his throat and turned on the computer Tony insisted he get. Of course, Bruce should've known the man would use it to spy on him. Licking his lips, he glanced at Niobe who was staring blankly at the clock behind him. Oh, this was going to be a delight, Banner thought sarcastically as he pulled up her file.

Outside his office, Zita was discussing Mr. Stark's eccentricity with Steve. The blonde man from the past seemed quite concerned with his matchmaking plot.

"I just don't think he needs to meddle in this friend's personal life," The Captain huffed, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "The man has no restraint."

The small brunette giggled and shook her head. "It's just his way of showing affection…I think." She pulled away from her microscope. With a serious tone, she rephrased herself, "It's _probably_ just his way of showing affection."

"But, can't he just let people go on with their lives? Let things sort themselves out?"

Zita shot him a crooked smirk. "Tony's not much for leaving things alone."

"Yes, I can see that." Steve rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his neighbour.

In the year or so he had been unfrozen, Miss Cale had been a rather good friend to him. She had been moved into the apartment across from his and had made it her life's work to help him re-enter society. Steve still wasn't sure if she was doing it out of obligation; if Fury had hired her to do it she seemed to have a rather erratic teaching method. Miss Cale mostly brought him over entertainment systems and spent hours teaching him how to play. On occasion she would bring music from various decades, most of which he hated, and tried to explain the 'awesomeness' of whatever band or singer she had brought.

She claimed they were to help his dexterity and cognitive skills, but the Captain secretly supposed it had more to do with her needing a playmate. He had supposed her lonely, and he had supposed correct. In the eleven months she had lived across from him, she had not had one visitor. Not a single family member or friend had stopped by.

Steve pursed his lips. Drumming his fingers against them, he asked, "Do you want to come with me?"

"Pardon?" Zita looked up from her notes; a puzzled crease in her brow. "Come where?"

"To the party with me." He smiled at her. "In a completely platonic way, of course. That way I'll be out of Tony's schemes and you'll get to see all the action first hand."

The brunette faltered. "Um…I don't think I'm invited, but thanks an-"

"Sure you are! Tony said it's for all of S.H.I.E.L.D!" Rogers face only brightened. "And you, Miss Cale are a close personal friend of an Avenger."

Her brows rose, her brown eyes blinking in a childlike fashion at him. "I am? Who?"

"_Me_, Cale, I meant me."

Zita beamed at him. Her pale features took on a hint of embarrassed pink at her own eagerness and she toned it down a touch. "We're friends?"

"Of course! Now," Steve took her hand carefully. It was only half the size of his own, he noticed, and adorned with the bulky digital watch she always wore. "Say you'll come. That way you can explain everything I don't understand and I can fend off all unwanted gentlemen callers."

"Well, I think we can bet on the former more than the latter but..." Zita nodded as she gave his hand a firm pump. "Okay! It could be fun, I guess."

The pair began to discuss just who Tony could be scheming about as Agent Coulson walked by the lab window. He glanced in and kept walking – until he realized that Captain America was holding his elevator buddy's hand. The man paused mid-step, and backed up a few paces to see them laughing- they're hands perfectly separate now. The man ignored the slight hint of jealousy, he had no reason to be jealous it wasn't like he was close with either of them personally, and continued back on his way, his shoulders slightly dropped.

"Aw," Tony mewed at the camera as he chewed a Skittle rather obnoxiously. "Poor baby."

Of course, the genius billionaire hadn't planned on Steve and Zita being friends- the fact that Agent Phil Coulson was the man's biggest fan was just a bonus in his book. A little jealousy would do the suit good, Tony reasoned, grinning as he began to hack the S.H.I.E.L.D's building control panel. There was so much to do in so little time.


	4. Just As Expected

After a moment's hesitation, Niobe accepted the small ball from Banner's hand. She eyed it sceptically. "Really? A stress ball, that's it?"

"I figured we'd start simple." Bruce rubbed the back of his neck as she gave it an experimental squeeze. Her long well kept nails catching both the light and his attention as he spoke. "Work our way up if it doesn't work."

"Hm." The woman rolled the hot pink squishy ball between her fingers absently. "So what, you stop by the dollar store on your way back to America or just get one of these first hand from the sweats shops?"

He frowned at her. "Positive thinking probably isn't going to work with you is it?"

"Probably not." Niobe admitted. She went to stand, asking, "Can I go now?"

"Wait, one more thing."

She paused to watch him struggle with his desk drawer a moment. He could feel his cheeks heat up as they went pink. Worse, Bruce could feel her dark eyes boring into them impatiently, but the man ignored it. After a few seconds it popped opened and he grinned at her in triumph. Niobe had to admit, he had a _very_ nice smile and she found a smirk twitching at her lips. When she realized this, she instantly shut it down. Bruce noticed the small glimpse of amusement in her gaze, but said nothing and chopped it up to a quiet victory on his part.

He pulled out a small notebook and offered it to her. "Here, I want you to track all the things in your daily routine that make you angry."

"Yeah, that book's gonna fill up awfully quick…" Niobe commented in a bland tone as she took it from him. When he didn't let go immediately, she met his stare.

"I won't read it." He swallowed when her gaze softened slightly. Her harsh features seemed a touch more lax, even a little warmer and he was surprised by the strange feeling of accomplishment that gave him. Bruce dismissed this as he went on. "It's just so you know what triggers you and how to avoid it."

She cocked a brow at him. "What; like a diary?"

"Sure, if you want to call it that."

"And you're not going to read it? How will you know I'm even doing it?"

The doctor shrugged casually. "It's for your own benefit. I'd like you to do it, it helped me when I started out, but you don't have to."

"So I'm kind of on the honour system." Niobe clarified with an arched brow.

Another shrug, this time accompanied by a weak smile. The woman briefly wondered if he practiced looking so sweet and disarming in the mirror every morning or if it was just naturally ability. Without another word between them, she left.

The moment Jemzen was out of sight, Bruce let out a breathe he hadn't realized he'd been holding and slumped down in his seat. He recalled the brief moment she had let her guard down and wondered she why she had been so quick to deny herself such a small favour. Why she had been so quick to deny him a smile. He didn't think about it too long however, as a brisk knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in!" He called, shaking himself out of his fog.

Zita poked her head inside, a sheepish look on her face. "How'd it go?"

"I have no idea." Bruce admitted earning a small chuckle from the woman.

Zita had been handpicked by Fury for him because of her bubbly personality. Frankly, Banner appreciated that. The woman seemed to ooze a positivity that spread easily to most she came in contact with. With a small, affectionate grin he asked what he could do for her.

"Well, I just got my new schedule, so I'm just stopping into say goodbye." She paused awkwardly a moment before raising a hand. "Goodbye."

The doctor started with surprise. "Schedule change? It's only six o'clock!"

Zita lifted a shoulder. "I got the message from Fury himself. I'm in from six to six now instead of eight to eight."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. It wasn't a very thorough e-mail," The woman told him. Her gaze became a bit hesitant, "I can stay late if you need me, sir."

Bruce shot her a stern glance she didn't totally understand. "Go home, Cale."

Zita beamed at him, all but hopping with joy as she thanked him. He waved her off and shook his head as she all but ran out of his office.

Outside, Tony Stark was strolling into the lab…and right into Zita, as just as expected.

"Miss Cale! My favourite little lab rat!"

The brunette blinked in surprise and ignored the slight flush of embarrassment on her cheeks as she greeted him with a smile. "Hi, Mr. Stark."

"Please. Call me Tony."

"I'm not really comfortable with-"

"So!" Tony tossed an arm around her narrow shoulders, continuing to ignore her distress for his own amusement. "Where are you off to so early, Milady? Got a hot date?"

Her skin went from its usual pale to dark scarlet. "No."

"Come on! You can tell me…what's his name?" His dark brown eyes squinted slyly at her. "Or her name?"

"No name!" Zita squeaked, trying to pull away from the Iron Man's iron grasp. "My schedule got changed- Mr. Stark this is hardly appropriate!"

"Relax. I'm not coming on to you, I promise." He let her go and crossed his heart, his finger nail skipping his arc reactor in the process. Just as expected her flustered stare dropped when it did, and was replaced with a look of guilt. Just as expected. Suppressing a grin, he asked, "I was wondering if you'd like to come to a party I'm having this weekend?"

"Oh, um, Mr. Rogers already kind of invited me."

He blinked in confusion, "That guy with the sweater and the puppets?"

"No, um, Steve Rogers? Captain America?"

Tony's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that. "Oh. Well. Okay, good, I guess. I didn't know you two were…okay."

"We're friends!" She chirped, beaming. "We're going to go as friends!"

She looked way too proud of that, Tony decided, but he wasn't able to bring himself to burst her chipper little bubble. Besides, there was something deliciously evil about making Coulson fight his childhood hero for the fair maiden's heart.

Serves the bastard right for faking his death anyhow.

"Mr. Stark?" Zita shifted uncomfortably as Tony glared off into space somewhere off to her left. "Mr. Stark? Should I get someone?"

The man snapped out of it and cleared his throat. "No thank you, Miss Cale." He offered her a strained smile. "I'm gonna go bug the big guy."

Puzzled, Zita watched him go a moment before making her way to the elevator. There was no use trying to rationalize Tony Stark's actions. She shook off his odd behaviour as she always did.

After a quick stop to her lock to lose her lab coat and throw on her jacket, the brunette made her way over to the elevators. Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched by a crazed billionaire in the lab she had just exited. Tony plopped his feet up on one of the work tables, careful to mind the various files and machines that lay on it. In his hands he held a tablet, a large portion of the screen showing Zita as she pushed the elevator button.

Tony was practically giddy with excitement as it opened.

Zita blinked in surprise as she stepped in to the elevators. "Agent Coulson."

"Miss Cale." Phil cocked his head as he eyed her lax attire. "A little early to be leaving, isn't it?"

"Schedule change." The woman explained.

"You too, huh?"

She nodded and fiddled with the sleeve of her coat. The material was thin and she cursed herself mentally for even bothering with it in the first place. It was July! Why did she even need a coat?

In the lab, Tony was cursing as well. "Fucking talk to her! Come on Coulson, be a man!"

Phil glanced at her as he pushed the button that would take them above ground. After swallowing he asked, "How are things coming along in the lab?"

"Great!" Zita told him, her voice rushed and nervous. Realizing how awkward she soundly, she slowed her tone. "Uh, really great."

Coulson glanced at her. He was a touched confused by her sudden drawl, but didn't comment on it. "Good."

"How's… whatever it is you do?"

He smirked at her. "Good."

"Good." Zita bit the inside of her cheek.

Tony groaned at them. "Come on! Get past the awkward stage already!" With a huff, he began to pull up another screen causing the pair to slip out of his view for a couple seconds.

In the elevator, Coulson cleared his throat. Zita glanced at him, but when she made eye contact she quickly looked away. This, of course, embarrassed them both. The woman sighed and leaned over to give the button another jab.

Her finger was about an inch from the button when the elevator gave a rough sudden jerk and stopped completely.

Coulson looked up as the lights flicked off and the emergency light flicked on, casting them in a strange orange glow. "Huh." He grabbed the emergency phone off its hook and told whoever was on the other end of the line what the problem was.

Zita watched with a hint of concern as the man's face went from unconcerned to annoyed. "What?" She asked, looking up at him with worried light brown eyes. "What's wrong?"

A bit frustrated, Phil slammed the phone back on to the hook. "It seems we may be here a while."

"What? Why?"

"It seems Mr. Stark is nowhere to be found and a repair man won't be able to come for at least an hour."

"An- An _hour_?" Zita squeaked. "But I just saw Mr. Stark; he was going to harass Dr. Banner!"

"Well it seems he's vacated the building." Coulson told her, his voice calm if not a touch tight as he leaned against the wall. "May as well make yourself comfortable, Miss Cale."

**A/N: if you can't tell, the next one will be more Coulson/Zita focused. Any thoughts on the couples so far**?


	5. Everyone is Frustrated

Zita checked her watch once again. She had only been trapped in the elevator with the agent for all of ten minutes, but to the petite brunette it felt like an eternity. This was most likely due to the strained silence that had hung around them like a dense fog.

Coulson arched a brow as she sighed. "Everything okay, Zee?"

"Huh?" She jumped, spinning to look at him with surprise. "Oh, um, fine, I suppose."

"Claustrophobic?" He asked gently, not moving from his place against the elevator wall.

"No. I mean, not really. It's not like this is an ideal situation for anyone except maybe people who like to be in enclosed spaces…" The woman blushed. Thankful for the warm orange glow instead of the bright white lights, she hugged herself. "Are you one of those people?"

"Not particularly, no." Phil straightened subtly, his tone keeping its usual calm tone. Zita was unsure whether to be comforted or annoyed by it, so she just stayed quiet. His light eyes flickered over her slight form; over the soft curves of her body that were usually hidden by her oversized lab coat. "How was Dr. Banner's stay in Cambodia?"

"Good, I think. He said it was hot and that was about it."

The man smirked at her. "So, all that research was for nothing?"

Zita's lips twitched with a smile. "I guess so."

Again the silence reared its ugly head. This time it was the woman who felt the need to break it. Fiddling with her blunt finger nails, she asked, "So…any plans being interrupted?"

Coulson chuckled. "No. I was just going to catch up on some paper work," He gestured to the brief case he had set on the floor sometime prior. "Maybe watch a little TV."

She stared at him. It was kind of hard to imagine him doing people things. Not that he wasn't a person, just that he had literally had a hand in saving the world some months prior and now he was going home to catch up on some paper work. It boggled the mind. She shook out of it and nodded, "Sounds relaxing."

He gave her a smirk filled with mirth. "It was going to be."

Zita laughed quietly and sighed. Rolling her neck, her eyes strayed to the orange light as she let out a displeased and apathetic; "Yeah."

"How about you?" The agent tilted his head curiously, "What'd you have planned for tonight?"

The woman lifted a shoulder half-heartedly. "Pretty much the same as you; switch TV out for sleep and video games, maybe."

He snickered. "Sounds fun."

"It was going to be," Zita teased with a disarming smile. When their gaze met, she quickly dropped it. What was she doing? Flirting with an agent! Agent _Phil Coulson_ no less! She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly and leaned against the wall to put more distance between them. The smirk slipped from Phil's lips and he crossed his arms over his chest. Leaning back against the cool reflective wall on his side, he looked away. Briefly, he recounted his actions, trying to make out what he had done to upset her, but came up empty.

Upstairs, where Tony was hiding in Bruce's (now empty) office, the billionaire was wondering the same thing. They had been making progress! Slowly paced and mind numbingly _dull_ progress, but still! Progress was progress! He huffed in frustrated and tugged at his hair.

As if sensing the disturbance in the force, Bruce popped his head in on his friend. "Everything okay in here?"

"Why do people have to be so stupid?" Tony moaned, slamming his head down on the desk. He peered up at the other man helplessly and whined, "Whhhhhhhhy?"

Banner squinted at him and shut the door without a word; mostly because he really had no idea how to respond to that. He had agreed to keep Stark's whereabouts a secret for no reason other than he couldn't seem the harm in it. Now the scientist was wondering about the effects of Tony's 'experiment' were having on his friend's psyche.

With a faint chuckle and a shake of his head, he returned to his work desk. He glanced over at Zita's station, noting the abundance of lights that were flickering on various machines and had just began to cross over to inspect them when his communication pad lit up. Nick Fury's face scowled up at him and Banner let out a sigh as he hit the accept button.

"Director."

"Doctor Banner." Fury nodded back to him, his sharp eye locked onto the man's face. "How was your appointment with Agent Jemzen?"

Several words popped into Bruce's head at once; _long, tense, awkward_, but his mouth settled on, "Fine."

"Fine?" the director repeated. "There were no…discrepancies?"

Bruce furrowed his brow in confusion, a light pout on his lips. "Like what?"

"Nothing. I take it she was respectful?"

Her sultry even tone invaded his ears, "So…you meditate? Like, for fun?" But Banner nodded regardless. She wasn't so much rude as she was painfully blunt. "She was fine. A little… blunt, but I think the meeting went well."

Fury seemed doubtful, but didn't comment on his suspicions. "Hm, if you find you have any disciplinary problems, report them to me. Understood?"

The scientist resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes sir."

"Fury out."

The communicator clicked off and Bruce inhaled a deep soothing breathe. He could handle Niobe. She wasn't confrontational, at least not toward him and while she may have toed the line of disrespect she was nothing compared to, say, Tony Stark. With that distraction settled, he went back over to Cale's intriguing lights. They were lit in an array of colours, the various meanings of which were scrawled in illegible writing on pieces of tape just below them.

Bruce squinted at them and was barely able to make out a broken letter _Y_ followed by a scraggly combination of cursive and block letters. He huffed and slipped his glasses off. Zita certainly was not hired for her calligraphy skills. Just looking at the odd word was giving him a head ache.

In the elevator, Phil too was experiencing a headache. The light was beginning to wear on his eyes, the air in the small space had become humid and warm; warm enough for him to consider stripping out of his jacket and laying out on the cool metal floor. He snuck a gander down at his cellmate. Zita had taken up residence on the floor of the elevator, short slack clad legs spread out in front of her looking like a tired child at story time. Her own thin coat was tossed across her work bag, mocking the agent with her bare arms.

"So…you and the Captain, huh?"

"Huh?" The woman blinked heavily, her words almost slurred as she jerked her gaze up to him. "I mean, pardon?"

"You and Steve Rogers…" Coulson sniffed, playing casual. "Aren't you two…you know?"

Zita stared at him bewildered. "What? No, of course not!" She shook her head with wide eyes, "Wow. No. No, not at all." Her nose scrunched up, "Why'd you think that?"

"I saw you two earlier," He licked his lips, ignoring the embarrassment and the repressing the urge to grin as he spoke, "You seemed rather close."

"We're friends." The brunette informed him with pride, "but just friends."

He allowed himself an indulgent smile that the woman didn't totally understand. "Oh."

"Mhm."

"Fucking finally!" Tony screamed at the screen. He pushed a button on his pad and watched as the elevator started with a jerk. The billionaire huffed. "Fucking Finally."


	6. Dummy

The next morning Bruce spotted his… pupil sitting in the break room, with stress ball firmly in hand, reading a report. Her hair was in its typical high ponytail, her striking features characteristically blank and the only indication she was even alive was the odd blink and the seemingly unending squeezes to the small pink ball in her fist.

He hesitated at the coffee station; Banner had only intended to stop in, grab a mug and go back to the lab where Tony had been pestering his assistant even more than usual. It was only supposed to take a minute – but before he could stop them, his feet were carrying him over to her, and his hand held an extra cup for her.

"Hey." Bruce's voice was so soft Niobe almost missed it. Her gaze flitted up to his and a fine brow arched at him curiously. It was almost nine, and most people were out in the field or at their respective posts by then.

"Hi…" She replied a touch apprehensively.

"May I…?" He gestured to the empty chair across from her and sat when she gave him an affirming nod. Thick, well calloused fingers set the mug down in front of her. "I didn't know what you take so…"

The agent dismissed his half hearted shrug with one of her own. "I don't mind it black. Thanks." She set the ball down and picked the cup up, her eyes straying back to the report in front of her. When the scientist shifted uncomfortably across from her, she shot him a wary glance. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Bruce picked up the pink ball. It was already well worn and spotted with various digs from her long nails. "Is this working out for you?"

"Not really." Her full lips pursed subtly and Banner noticed her face was completely void of makeup; her dark skin the colour of his coffee and her lips surprisingly soft looking. He could feel himself staring but was powerless to stop it, his gaze locked on her mouth, which was slowly drooping into a thin line of annoyance.

After about thirty seconds of his unnerving staring, she snapped, "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." His blush was fierce. He rubbed a hand roughly over his hot cheeks to hide it, but it was impossible. His embarrassment was so overwhelming he considered making a run for it. To be caught openly gawking at a woman! Much less a woman of S.H.I.E.L.D who could probably break his dick off with a casual flick of her wrist!

She continued to watch him sceptically as he took a deep gulp of the hot coffee. As he winced painfully, Niobe let out a hum of annoyance. "You okay, man?"

"Fine!" Bruce rasped, much to her amusement.

She smirked at him; it was more a crooked smile really before shaking her head and going back to her report. Once her gaze landed on it, her smirk drew back and her eyes hardened.

The man took a deep breath and stood. "Well, um, I guess…I guess I'll see you later, Agent."

"What time?"

"What time do you have free?" He asked. Banner's tone had returned to its soft and gentle state and, Niobe had to admit, she rather liked the cautious warmth in it.

"I'm on a plane at five, so, four?"

He tilted his head. "Where're you off to?"

"Moscow." The woman's voice was gloomy (_tired_, Bruce thought with an empathetic smirk) and not entirely present. Her hand also tightened its hold on the blue mug's handle.

Gingerly, the scientist took a sip of his coffee. It tasted rubber-like on his burnt tongue. "Oh…well, four's fine with me. Just, maybe give me a heads up before you swing by the lab?"

She nodded. Agent Jemzen dropped her head back to the manila folder splayed out in front of her, but her brown eyes followed him out of the break room. Bruce Banner was a strange man, she supposed, but he seemed like a nice one. Smiling faintly, Niobe shook her head and returned to her work.

In the lab, a robot was brushing Zita's hair. The lab assistant was perfectly still as she stared into her microscope, afraid of moving. The Iron Man had already scolded her for doing that and since then she had been more or less sitting in fear.

Tony fluffed a strand of her dark hair. It was longer than he had suspected, almost to her elbows and a deep chestnut brown with reddish copper highlights. With a disapproving tut he informed her, "You have split ends."

"Oh, um, I'm sorry." Zita replied with a heavy hint of apprehension in her voice.

The moment Bruce left the room Tony had begun his assault. It had started casually, with a few questions about why she never wore make up and quickly progressed into _Pepper taught me a few beauty tips, let me help you_ while he laid a hair straightener, curling iron and a rather large looking make up kit out in front of her. For fear of being decapitated by the machine, she had allowed him to pull out the bun at the base of her neck and fuss over her.

In truth, Zita just had absolutely no idea how to respond to this. Tony Stark often inspired these feelings however, and over time she had learned submission was the quickest route to freedom. She didn't look up from her microscope as her boss entered.

There was a pause as the two men stared at each other. The machine affectionately named _Dummy_ never ceased its gentle ministrations, completely unaware of both its creator's shit eating grin and the scientist's horror.

"What are you doing to her?"

"Making her pretty!" Tony chirped flamboyantly, "I mean, pretty-_er_, of course Miss Cale." He quickly corrected himself.

"Mhm." Bruce's sceptical gaze turned to Zita. "Is this alright with you?"

"As long as this thing doesn't rip my head off, I'm okay with it, I guess." Her gaze rose from the microscope's lens and her boss could see a touch of annoyance in it. "But I don't want to wear the makeup. It breaks me out."

Banner looked to the Iron Man. "No makeup."

"But-" Tony pouted. With crossed arms he leaned against the counter. "Fine." He smiled in a devious way that made his friend uncomfortable. Stark's eyes fell to the top of Zita's head. "So, Cale…I heard you got stuck in the elevator last night."

The petite woman sighed. "For almost an hour."

"With Agent Coulson."

"What?" Bruce couldn't stop the amused grin that crept over his face. The idea of his assistant being locked up with the blunt sarcastic agent was almost too much to bear. He felt a little bad about it but not much. "How- is that why you were hiding in my office?"

Tony gestured to him to quit it frantically as Zita looked up at the billionaire. "What's that mean? Why were you hiding in his office?"

The man was glad when her question was out of curiosity and not suspicion. Tony chuckled when she tried to tilt her head, only to have Dummy quickly right it back to her microscope. "I was hiding from Fury. Something about learning some discipline, blah, blah, blah."

"Oh." Zita went back to her microscope. Tony heaved a sigh of relief, but it got caught in his throat as she spoke. "I really wished you would've come out to get us out of there. It's was…uncomfortable."

Tony arched a coy brow and slid in to the chair across from her. "How so?"

"I don't know. I've never been very good at social interaction – much less being forced to interact in a confined space with the Agent Coulson."

The men shared a look over her head. "_The_ Agent Coulson?"

She blushed a faint pink. "He blasted a _demigod_ through a _wall_. While _stabbed through the chest_…that's pretty, you know, huge." The woman swallowed, "It's kind of hard to hold up your end of a conversation with someone when they do that kind of thing on a daily basis."

Tony all but cooed at her. "Oh, baby, no."

Both Zita and Bruce looked at him with disturbed expressions, but it was the latter who spoke. "Tony, don't you have somewhere to be right now?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I should probably go find…someone to talk to."

And so Tony went off to find Niobe. The woman was in the exact same place as she had been fifteen minutes ago, only now she had her comm. out in front of her rather than her file.

Niobe only let out one stern word when Tony dropped down into the seat across from hers. "No."

"No?" The playboy taunted, grinning as he rested his chin on his hand. "Why 'no' Agent Jemzen? Can I call you Jem? Jemmy? Jemzini?"

"No." She repeated her tone bored and cold as she dismissed him. Her dark eyes never left the holographic file she was skimming as she brought the cup of coffee once again to her lips.

Tony's smile widened. He recognized that beat up blue cup; it was Bruce's favourite. Gleeful, the man barely refrained from bouncing in his seat. "I heard you had your first anger management meeting yesterday."

No response.

"Bruce said he has high hopes for you."

That got her attention. Niobe blinked with surprise as she looked up at him. "Is that so?"

"Mhm." Tony batted his eyelashes at her. "He thinks you have potential."

Unsettled by his wistful tone and flaunting gaze, the woman cleared her throat. "Well. That's…that's something." She shook her head to rid herself of the unwanted feeling of pride that had given her. In the short hours that she had gotten to know Banner the day prior, she had to admit, she liked him; liked his unobtrusive ways and soft manner. It was refreshing, considering most of the people in S.H.I.E.L.D were rather harsh and cold.

They were too much like herself for Niobe to ever really care for them.

**A/N: sorry for the long wait. the betaing was rough on this one.**


	7. Tiptoeing

Tony watched Niobe carefully. His gaze was more apt to how one would regard a wounded animal than a grown woman, but he relaxed slightly at the reserved smirk on her lips.

"What?" He asked, brow cocked and curious. "Thinking about that time you kicked a puppy?"  
Just as quick as it came, the expression disappeared. "The time I torched your Lexus, actually."

"That's not funny – that's just mean. Why would you prod at a fresh wound like that?"

Niobe sighed with contemptuous irritation, "Like you haven't bought three to replace it already."

"Four, actually." The man smirked. He leaned back in his seat and drummed his fingers on the table top. When her gaze sharpened at him, Tony quickly tucked his nails into his palm. With a fake grin, he told her, "I'm having a party this weekend."

"I thought you were drying out?" Her voice, surprisingly, was not unkind, but rather cautious. He wasn't sure whether or not he appreciated that, but listened as she went on. "Besides, how is that unlike any other weekend for you?"

"It's for Bruce!" Tony ignored her question and carried on, so flamboyantly, that he actually got a wide eyed reaction from her. He was rather proud of that. "A _welcome-back-to-the-land-of-the-free-and-home-of-the-Whooper_ type deal."

She blinked at him and raised her coffee mug to her lips. In her typical bored drawl, she commented, "Sounds fascinating," before taking a sip of her coffee.

"And I want you to come!"

Niobe choked. Sputtering, she put a hand over her mouth. Tony snickered at her flustered expression and horrified eyes. "I know. It's a dubious honour, but I think you're ready for it."

"What? No!" She wiped her lips and flushed cheeks. "I'm not going to one of your alcohol induced orgies!"

"_Once_! That happened _once_!" Tony replied almost casually. The slight hitch in his voice gave away his embarrassment however and he hopped to his feet as Niobe got up and began to gather her things.

He grinned at her. "It'll be fun! We'll drink, have a few laughs, dance the night away!"

"I'm really not interested." Niobe put her files on her hip and strolled out of the room.

Tony was quick to run after her. "Come on! What's the harm in spending some time with a few co-workers?"

"I don't drink."

He paused. "Really?"

"Really. Besides, I'm going to be in Siberia this weekend." The agent told him as she pushed the elevator button. When it didn't come immediately, she jabbed it a few more times for good measure.

"_Really_?" The man repeated, this time more doubtful than surprised.

The doors opened with a ding and she stepped inside. A smirk on her lips, she drawled, "Well, now I'm going to be."

"That's just mean, Jem!"

Niobe's eyes narrowed at him and she sneered at him, "Don't call-"

Her response was cut off by the closing metal doors and Tony chuckled to himself. Whistling happily he turned on his heel and sauntered back to the lab…or at least planned on stopping by the lab when his favourite agent crossed his line of vision.

"Agent!" He called out, practically skipping toward the surprised man. "Oh, Agent Coulson!"

Disturbed by the Iron Man's singing, Phil pursed his lips. "Yes, Mr. Stark?"

Tony was oblivious to this and continued to grin maniacally at him as he asked, "What's up?"

"Look, I've got paper work to do so-"

"Did you know Cap invited Miss Cale to the party I'm having?" The scientist watched as the agent's expression tightened. "Which, you're totally invited to by the way. It's this Saturday. Don't bother to bring a coat, because apparently snow doesn't fall in July that often."

Phil felt his jaw clench along with his fists. "Is that right?"

"Is what right?"

"I was under the impression that Miss Cale and Mr. Rogers were just friends."

Tony shrugged flamboyant as he waved a hand. "I don't know all the details." He wiggled his fingers disapprovingly at the man's chest. "Maybe lose the suit too."

"What's wrong with my suit?" Coulson asked irritably. There was just enough offense in it for Tony to take some pride in, and when Phil caught sight of that, he went on, "And what do you mean you don't know the details?"

"Hey! You're the secret agent here, man." Stark's posture took on a cocky stance as he crossed his arms over his chest and dropped a hip. "I'm just the busy, hard bodied gossip, okay?"

Phil just stared at him. Tony couldn't tell if it was a stare of disbelief, annoyance or maybe just clear cut anger, so he grinned in return. The shorter man squinted, "That's not very helpful."

"You know what's not helpful? Like, for my sanity? You two tiptoeing around the fact that you like each other." Tony huffed when that got no response – not even a blink – so he went on chastising the agent. "Honestly. You're like excruciatingly stubborn, awkward school children. Why don't you just tug her pigtails, Coulson? At least than she'd-"

"If you'll excuse me, Mr. Stark, I have more important matters to attend to than your idiotic ranting."

Tony gawked indignantly as Coulson turned heel and began to leave him. Stark's ego would not allow that and desperate to get the last word, he hollered, "_More important matters than _love_, Romeo?"_

When the agent paused mid-step, Tony fled back to the lab. He slammed the door behind him, making both the scientist and his assistant jump.

Zita's hair is now piled high on her head, Dummy sticking random bobbypins in it to form some kind of style. She seemed completely at ease with the robot now; her head casually resting on the palm of her hand as she explained to Bruce all the meanings of the different lights.

She motioned with her finger to them as she spoke in her cheery high pitched voice. "Well, these pink ones are me and these blue ones are you."

"Shouldn't they be green?" Tony asked, looking away from the glass doors to saunter over to them. He hopped up on the stool next to Bruce and elbowed him with a wink his friend didn't totally understand.

It was very similar to the way Zita was looking at him as well. "Why would I make them green? His favourite colour is blue."

Banner's eyes slipped over to her and Tony was fairly certain, that had he not been there to witness it, Banner would've hugged her then. Stark pulled out a pad and typed something into it that forced Dummy to do it for him. Zita looked horribly disturbed about being embraced by a lifeless metal machine, but no one cared what she thought because she was just an assistant. Tony actually laughed at her misery.

Feeling the need to comfort her in some way, or at least help her save some face, Bruce asked about why so many of the lights were flashing.

"Some of the tests are still running; it'll probably take a couple weeks to complete them." The woman absently tried to pull away from the machine that was still hugging her back firmly to its front. When Stark noticed he forced Dummy to gently sway her from side to side. Her light brown eyes narrowed at him and she went on with a sigh. "It's just all of the known genetic factors that could've made you susceptible to…you know."

"And why are you running yourself?" Bruce asked reaching over to take the pad from Tony. The other man let out a whine and swivelled his whole body away from him like a small child unwilling to share his lolly.

She blushed faintly and shrugged. "I have some curiosities of my own."

"So do I!" Tony piped up. Once again he's beaming uncontrollably and that made Zita smile back out of reflex and Bruce look exceedingly nervous. "Like what's up with you and Captain Boy Scout?"

"Who? Steve?" Bruce blinked with surprise, now curious as well. He looked over at his assistant who was still being rocked. "And can you seriously make that stop?"

The second portion was directed at Stark and with a huff, his friend obeyed. The brunette let out a grateful sigh and shot Bruce a sweet smile. "Thanks."

He shrugged and rephrased his question. "I didn't know you were seeing Steve."

"I'm not."

"But you are going as his date to the party this Saturday?" Tony pressed, leaning forward.

She tilted her head. "Um, yes, I am."

"So you are dating him?" Banner asked, now tilting his body toward her just as his friend was.

Zita stared at them. She recognized that look from college, the gossip hungry primal stares of young women…or middle aged men in this case. She tucked herself away from them, back into the safety of the emotionless robot. Firmly, she repeated, "No."

They continued to stare at her, unfazed by her embarrassment. When Tony realized the female wasn't going to submit to their need to prattle on, he switched his interest over to Bruce.

"I hear Jem's heading off into the abbess this weekend?"

Banner rubbed his nose absently. "Well, I know she's going to Moscow tonight, but I didn't know she was spending the weekend."

"Uh huh…" Tony grinned impishly. "You two spend some time together?"

The scientist crossed his arms uncomfortably as he shifted in his seat. "We had coffee this morning."

"I like Niobe," Zita nodded her approval. "She seems-"

Tony pointed a sharp finger at her. "Don't you dare say nice."

"Interesting." The woman replied, meekly shrinking away from his aggressive gesture.

Bruce forced his friend's hand down. "Stop scaring my assistant."

"Don't tell me what to do." The billionaire snapped. Playing with his pad again, he went on, "Tell me about coffee with Jemmy."

"I don't think she'd like you calling her that." Banner smirked. He got up from his stool and moved around to check over the various tests Zita was running. With his back turned to them, he spoke in a low voice. "You didn't talk to her, did you?"

Zita went to stand, but Dummy quickly and firmly put her back on the stool. She looked helplessly at Tony. With a dramatic sigh, he punched in the release order and with a grateful smile the woman scampered off…mostly to fix her hair which now looked somewhat like birds had made a nest in her hair.


	8. Tony Pushes The Boundaries of Friendship

Zita fluffed her dark hair in the mirror with a sigh. In the bright lights of the bathroom, the woman felt small and unappealing. She could see the faint rises on her skin, so subtle they were almost invisible to the naked eyes and she touched them absently with a prodding, disapproving finger.

When the door opened, she quickly pulled her hand back. A faint flush appeared on her cheeks as Agent Romanoff eyed her dubiously. The redhead moved over to the sink and began washing some of the blood off her hands (she had just come from an extensive combat training and an unlucky recruit had gotten nailed in the nose with one of her tiny fists of fury). Zita shuffled nervously away from her as she pulled out some of the many bobby pins from her updo. A frown etched into her soft features, she dropped them in the sink as she slowly peeled her hair down.

"You work with Bruce, right?"

The sultry voice of the agent is enough to catch the (slightly) taller woman off guard and for a moment Zita can only blink stupidly at her before nodding. "Uh-huh."

Natasha smirked at her, the Russian's blue eyes slowly trailing to Zita's mess of a hairstyle. "What happened to your hair?"

"Tony Stark." The lab assistant replied with a reluctant smile as she dropped another pin in the sink. "Or at least, his robot."

The woman let out a snicker. "I should have known."

The next few moments were spent in silence as the agent dried her hands. Zita watched her carefully, unsure of how to respond to the small, but imposing woman. In truth, the brunette was a touch frightened of her.

"I take it you're going to his…party?"

"Mr. Rogers invited me." Zita replied promptly.

"Hm." Natasha cocked a brow but didn't comment. It was none of her business, nor was it her place to pry. "I'll see you there then."

Zita smiled softly at her and nodded as the woman departed. A hysterical gasp left her throat, but she quickly calmed herself. She had just survived an encounter with Black Widow. _Awesome_. She decided to be proud of herself instead of crap herself with fear. With a bit more shake in her hand, she continued taking out the bobby pins.

In the lab, Bruce was scowling at Tony. The grip on the handle of his coffee mug was subtle, but meaningful. Not so tight as to arouse anger, but enough to let out some of his irritation. "You shouldn't have done that."

"What? It was just some friendly chatter!"

"Friendly chatter?" The man repeated doubtfully.

Tony shrugged with a roll of his eyes. "Okay, hostile chatter, so what?"

"And you invited her to your party…why?" Banner asked with annoyed curiosity.

"Pepper made me." The lie was flawless. Pepper actually _liked_ Jemzen (for some reason Tony couldn't quite fathom) and would've asked him to do so anyway. Stark shrugged casually as his friend squinted at him with suspicion. "I guess they're bros… Or the female equivalent of."

"Since when?"

"Since Jemmy decided to threaten me with castration in vivid detail in Pep's presence. What is it about castration that just brings women together?" He asked jovially with an overdramatic bob of his shoulders and a flutter of Tony's rather effeminate eyelashes.

Bruce just shook his head. "I can honestly say I don't know."

"We'll ask Zita when she gets back."

The shorter man cocked a brow. "What's with you and tormenting my assistant today?"

"Hey! I am not _tormenting_ her. I am _bonding_ with her."

Banner rolled his eyes. "Well, either way, I don't think she likes it."

"She loves it." Tony rebuffed casually.

When Zita arrived back in the room, the men had shifted their attention to the up coming party and whether or not it would be appropriate to have an all green theme. Bruce said it wasn't, but the would-be host was insistent. By the time Agent Jemzen stepped foot in the lab, at promptly four o'clock – which neither of them seemed to notice – the topic had drifted to what kind of music they should be playing.

"Classic rock all the way." Tony replied with a huff. "Maybe some rap."

Bruce smiled at that. "Yeah, I'm sure Cap would just love N.W.A."

"He likes rockabilly," Zita told them with a smile. "In fact he likes most swing-centric music."

"We'll get a band!" The billionaire chirped happily. His dark eyes only brightened further when they landed on Niobe's mostly blank but somewhat puzzled features. "Jemmy! Welcome to the Fun-zone. No scowling allowed."

They stared at each other a long moment. He pointed at her face. "You're still doing it. Did you not hear me, just a second ago? I mean, come on, Jem, we only have one rule."

"Right…" Niobe glanced over to Bruce. "Are you ready?"

The man nodded and led her to his office as Zita asked Tony whether or not the party was to be formal dress. Bruce shut the door tightly behind her with a sigh. "Is it awful to thank you for getting me away from that?"

"What?"

"Tony won't shut up about this party thing."

Jemzen nodded in understanding. "Your home coming."

"I don't need a home coming, I need a break." Banner huffed and fell into the chair behind his desk. "At least his heart's in the right place."

"Hm." The woman dropped gracefully into her own seat and pursed her lips. She crossed a long leg over her other and leaned back in the seat. For a few seconds, they sat in silence as the scientist rubbed some of the ache out of his eyes and the woman let her gaze dart around the office. It rested on the clock above his head as he spoke.

"I see you've gotten good use out of the stress ball."

Niobe's dark eyes fell to his face where a small amused smile rested on his lips. He gestured weakly with one hand to the mutilated pink ball in her fist. The woman held it up to eye level and cast it a wary glance.

"I take it, it's not helping?" Bruce asked her with an amused smile.

"Not at all."

"Well, what about yoga? Or some meditation?"

She lifted a shoulder and tossed him the ball. He caught it in both hands as she spoke. "I've never tried meditation." A manicured nail tapped her temple, "Not very good at clearing my mind."

Bruce frowned sympathetically. "It's not an easy task. Takes a long time to master, but once you get it, it can be very relaxing."

"Hm." The brunette said nothing as she contemplated his words. "I suppose I could try it on the plane."

"When are you due back?"

A fine brow arched at him. "Tomorrow, we have another session, don't we?"

His smile returned. "I guess we do."

Niobe felt a familiar rush of admiration that she was beginning to associate with Banner's easy grin. Her features didn't show it however. The woman stood with pursed lips and asked if they were done. The man assured her they were.

"Jemmy!" Tony bellowed as the agent re-entered the lab. She didn't so much as pause as his greeting. He dismissed this, calling, "Bring me back a snow cone!"

He snickered as she slammed the lab door closed. Grin still in place, he looked to Zita. "Have I mentioned how much I appreciate that you actually acknowledge me?"

"Huh?" The woman looked up from her notes with a dazed look in her eyes. "Sorry, Tony, did you say something?"

His whole body slumped. "Never mind."

She went back to her notes as the billionaire wondered over to Bruce's office. The man was reading what appeared to be some of his own research. Before Tony could even open his mouth, Bruce stopped him with a prompt and final, "No."

"But-"

"No, Tony."

Huffing, Stark dropped in the chair once occupied by Niobe. He frowned at his friend, but Banner didn't so much as look up from his pad. To get his attention, Tony began kicking the desk. Bruce pursed his lips and looked up at him with dull eyes.

"Don't you have work to do?"

"I'm bored. Play with me."

"Get Zita to play with you, I'm busy."

Tony sighed and crossed his arms like a petulant child. "She's only fun when she's embarrassed."

"Stop embarrassing my assistant," Bruce bemoaned as he rubbed his eyes. "She doesn't like that."

Stark shrugged and kicked the desk again. His friend glared at him. This, of course, made the former smile even wider as he asked, "Wanna cause some trouble?"

"No."

"Well, too bad, you're gonna." Tony informed him with a wily smirk as he plucked the pad out of his hands. Bruce blushed red as Tony slowly looked from the contents of the comm. to his friend with a highly arched knowing brow. "Taking an interest in Miss Jemzen I see."

"I-I was just- it's not what you think, stop perverting it!" Banner snapped at him, not angry, but mortified at having been caught. "It's my job!"

"You liiiiiike her," Tony sang teasingly at him. "You think she's seeeexy."

"I do not."

"Yes you dooooo."

"Tony, I swear to god-"

Stark stuck tongue out playfully at him and shook his head as he continued to sing.

This carried on, uninterrupted, for god knows how long and Bruce was on the verge of hulking out when his savior came in the form of a tiny brunette.

"Dr. Banner?" Zita poked her head inside just in time to see Tony swaying back and forth singing _Kiss the Girl_ in a rather offensive Jamaican accent. For a few seconds, she just stood there before she snapped out of her stupor. "Um, I'm just heading out…is there anything else you need?"

"Yes, would you be so kind as to walk Mr. Stark to his car?"

Tony opened his mouth to refuse, but Zita's chirp of, "Of course, sir!" made him change his mind. She was kind of too adorable to resist any way. Jumping up from his chair, Tony pointed a stern finger at Bruce as he offered Zita his arm.

"This isn't over."

"Yes it is," Banner replied, his voice and features once again lax with the promise of Tony's departure. There was even a twitch of a smile at his lips.

Tony frowned at that. Zita was oblivious. She hooked her arm in the man's and gave it a slight tug. "I have to stop by the change room before I walk you up, okay?"

He let out a grunt, but allowed himself to be guided out the door; though he glared at Bruce until he was out of sight… Then he stepped back inside the office and pointed at him until Zita threatened to leave without him.

"Coming, dearest!" Tony yelled as she was about to exit the lab.

Zita hung up her lab coat and darted into the women's change room. Tony followed without batting an eyelash.

"Um, you can't be in here."

"Why not?"

She arched a brow as she pulled a wind breaker out of the locker. It was a rather ugly thing, with gaudy blue and green striping over a white back. Tony made a mental note to send her out with Pepper to get a dress for the party, but Zita didn't notice his amusement as she offered, "Because you're a man?"

"That's sexist." He rebuffed with a coy grin. "You're not seriously wearing that out are you?"

Zita nodded. She didn't bother zipping it up, but made sure her bare forearms were covered. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she announced, "Alright, Mr. Stark, let's go."

"Finally!" The man bemoaned, "Girls take forever to get ready."

The two smiled at each other and linked arms again. Tony ignored the irritating slickness that came along with the woman's jacket to spare them both an argument. They spoke of casual things; the weather, how Fury lost his eye, what kind of horrifying things Zita had been exposing Cap to (such as Limp Bizkit and the various early works of Peter Jackson), and of course, Agent Coulson.

Of course, the moment Tony asked 'just what exactly their deal was', the elevator doors opened, revealing the man in question.

Phil frowned at Tony. Apparently he hadn't forgotten their previous conversation. His eyes slipped to Zita and he nodded politely. "Miss Cale."

"Agent Coulson." She smiled.

"I should leave you two al-ow!" Tony winced as Zita sunk her nails into his forearm. "Geez, okay, I'm coming."

The agent suppressed a smirk. Once they were inside he pushed the up button and decided to make small talk. "So, how was your day?"

Smugly, Zita straightened up a bit. "I got my hair styled by a robot today, what did you do?"

Phil was silent a moment before shaking his head, "There's no way I can top that."

"It was my idea," Tony butt in, uncomfortable with the fact that they were flirting without his assistance. "She took it like a champ, didn't even cry."

Coulson's cool gaze slipped over to Stark and he squinted with confusion. "Why would she cry?"

"Because girls hate robots."

"Sexist." Zita replied promptly. Tony's eyes widened as he beamed at her, but she paid him no mind. Her eyes stayed locked on the numbers as they dwindled, signaling their impending return to the surface world. She let out a silent prayer that the elevator wouldn't stall again. It was hard enough for her to spend so much time with Phil alone; it would certainly be hell on earth if she had to do the same with both him and Tony Stark. She dug her nails anxiously into her palm.

Tony frowned at the lack of attention he so rightly deserved. Looking over her head to Phil, he asked, "You're coming to my party right?"

"For the fourth time, yes." The agent snapped at him. With a glare, he asked, "Have you even told Pepper about it yet?"

"That's Miss Potts to you, buddy." The scientist grinned with a wily look in his eye. "Are you bringing a date?"

When Zita didn't so much as look away from the numbers, nor did she stiffen, or shift uncomfortably – both men were disappointed.

Phil cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, no."

"Is it because you caught that cello player getting her strings plucked by another man?"

This time the woman did shoot him a disapproving look, "Tony, that's not very nice."

"I agree! It wasn't very nice at all!" Tony gave a nod in the other man's direction. "You should kiss his face to make him feel better."

"I'm starting to see why Dr. Banner doesn't like you hanging around the lab." Zita muttered; her cheeks a faint pink as she quickly stepped back from Phil. The man rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to look at her. Tony tucked their responses away in a mental file he had labeled: _Agent and Assistant Are Secretly in Love_.

When the doors opened, the woman all but ran out, not looking back.

"You're supposed to walk me to my car!" Tony bellowed. When the agent went to leave, Tony grabbed his arm, "Hey wait."

"What now, Mr. Stark?"

With considerably kinder features, the scientist asked, "Is the cellist why you won't, you know, kick things off with Cale?"

"No." Phil said plainly. "I don't know where you get this notion that Miss Cale is attracted to me in the first place, but she _isn't_."

With those final words and a deep frown, the agent left the elevator. Tony crossed his arms and leaned back against the cool steel walls. The doors closed as he stared at his own reflection.

"Well than," He said aloud, "We'll just have to try a bit harder now won't we, gorgeous?"

He nodded to himself with a grin.

**A/N: So sorry for the long wait!**


	9. Appropriate Levels of Weirdness

When Bruce got the call from Fury, he was surprised. When the director ordered him to continue the anger management session with Niobe despite the fact that the woman was on a sabbatical, Bruce was, well, stumped.

He stared down at the comm. curiously. "And just how do you suppose I do this?"

"Go to her apartment." Fury told him casually. Banner could practically hear the follow up, _duh_, that remained unspoken. Before he could get a word in, Fury carried on, "I'll send you the address."

As transmission clipped out, the scientist huffed. Crossing his arms, he leaned back in his comfy padded chair. He took a few deep breathes to level the hitch of anger he felt. Then decided, fine, if Fury wanted him to check in on Jemzen, he was at least going to do it on company time.

Zita glanced up as her boss entered the lab. Before she could ask if anything was bothering him (he was turning a particular shade of red that she was unused to seeing, but admittedly that was more welcome to any shade of green, in her book) he told her she could have the rest off the day off.

"Wow, really?" Her sharp pale features lit up. "I mean, that's really nice and all but-"

"Go home, Cale."

The small woman beamed at him. After a moment of just smiling moronically at him, she threw her arms around him in a hug. Bruce flinched at the contact as he gave her back an awkward pat. Zita quickly scurried out of the lab and her boss went about turning off the equipment.

The brunette had just left the change room when she ran into Agent Hill. The taller woman arched a brow at her laid back attire. "Where's the fire?"

"Sorry, I, uh, got the morning off and I'm hoping to rush back to my bed while it's still warm," Zita blushed faintly as she pulled her coat closer to her thin frame. "Sorry."

"It's fine." The agent pursed her lips at Cale's nervousness, but didn't comment on it. "How're things going in the lab?"

"Progress is slow, but fascinating." The assistant assured her with a wide smile. The agent didn't notice Zita's finger nails cutting into her palms as she held herself.

Maria nodded. "Good to hear. Carry on."

"Thank you." Zita darted past the woman, a bit more frazzled than she had been.

Her cheeks were a faint pink as she strode down the hall. She had always had trouble relating to women, much less when she didn't have time to give herself a pep talk on how to act normal. Shaking her head, she approached the elevators and sighed as she hit the button. It was only through sheer luck that she had managed to maintain a relatively low interest among most of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The doors opened, revealing Agent Coulson and Agent Barton, who seemed to be in deep discussion about an upcoming mission. They looked at her as the doors opened and the pair went horribly, horribly silent. They stared at Zita as her eyes widened. Her breathe caught in her throat as two of the most powerful agents in the entire division stared at her. Gesturing with a finger, she began to shuffle away.

"Just gonna, you know, take the stairs."

"Wait," Barton's hand shot out, gently taking her arm. "We were just leaving. The elevator's all yours, miss."

"Thanks." She squeaked, her voice going unnaturally high. He let her go and she hurried into the elevator. Anxiety bubbled in her chest. As she felt a panic attack rising, she began frantically jabbing the close button. Clint's gaze slowly drifted over to Phil, who was watching the tiny woman with slowly blushing cheeks.

"Shut up," He muttered to the shorter man. Clint only smirked in return.

"Hold the elevator!"

Absently, Hawkeye stuck his hand out. The door slipped apart and Zita looked up from the button with surprise. "What-"

Bruce smiled sheepishly and darted inside. "Sorry. Thanks for holding it for me."

"No problem," Clint replied. "Have a good one, guys."

"You too." Bruce leaned over and hit the close button. The doors slid closed on the first try. Zita glared at him, her features flushed and annoyed. He arched a brow. "What?"

"Nothing." Crossing her arms over her chest, she wandered over to the back of the elevator and leaned into the corner. "Thank you for letting me have the day off, sir."

"No biggie." Banner chuckled at her strange actions. "Any plans for the day?"

"Nope." Trying to calm herself down, Zita closed her eyes tightly. Her voice never quivered as she told him, "Gonna sleep and play with Ralph Macchio."

The man blinked at her. "The Karate Kid?"

"My bearded dragon." She corrected.

"Uh." Banner rubbed his eyes. It was too early to rationalize Cale. A low chuckle escaped his throat. "Sounds like fun."

"It will be." The firmness in her tone made him grin, but she couldn't see it. Her arms crossed over her chest, nails digging into her palms as she spoke. "It will be magical. We will share salad and play Spyro, and not just because he's sexually attracted to him, but because he's awesome."

"Spyro's attracted to your lizard?"

"Don't be silly, Ralph Macchio is attracted to Spyro."

Bruce shook his head. "Right." He replied dryly, "That _was_ silly of me."

Zita's eyes opened as the elevator dinged. She uncrossed her arms with a relieved sigh and casually strolled out. Just as Banner was leaving, she spoke. "I know I'm…weird and that I can be difficult."

He blinked at her flushed, nervous features. "Huh?"

"I know I am, I always have been. I just… Thanks for putting up with me." She flashed him a meek smirk and quickly walked away.

The man watched her go, slightly gob smacked by her omission. He thought it over as he drove to Niobe's apartment on the lower East Side of Manhattan. Zita was an… unorthodox woman, he would give her that, but considering who she both worked and willingly associated with, he could hardly consider her 'weird'. He was still thinking over her words when he knocked on the agent's door.

A faint call of "Just a sec!" greeted the man and a few seconds later a haggard looking Niobe opened the door. Her brown eyes widened at him. "Uh…Hi. What're you doin' here?"

"The director insisted we meet up for our anger management session." Bruce told her, his stare blank. The twitch of amusement on his lips gave him away however.

She let out a scoff and pulled the door open enough for him to squeeze by. "Seriously? Lame."

"I agree." Bruce let his gaze sweep over her apartment.

It was spacious, as most accommodations by S.H.I.E.L.D were, with a blue and grey color pattern. The walls were painted interchangeably, one a light, French grey, the other a Carolina blue. It went on like this through out the apartment.

It was also meticulously clean. He arched a brow as the woman slowly shuffled away from him. "What happened?"

"Got into a little trouble in Russia," Niobe told him, grabbing an orange out of a basket on the table in front of her. Her features contorted into a flinch and she let out hiss of pain as she sat down. "My own fault; should've brought back up."

"We can reschedule…"

She waved him off. "It's cool. I was just gonna watch Ricki Lake and repress it." With an arched brow and a small smirk, she asked, "Care to keep a girl company?"

Bruce's brows shot up. For a moment, he thought she was flirting with him. His gaze sharpened suspiciously as she began to peel her orange. She had to be kidding. She had to be. His gaze swept over her tiny basket ball shorts and her white undershirt, both of which gave him an ample view of her seemingly flawless chocolate skin. He swallowed as Niobe met his gaze.

"Wasn't a million dollar question, doc." She eased out of the high chair and moved over to the beat up, plaid couch – grey and blue, of course. Niobe nestled into it with a content smile.

The man shut the door and followed her over to the couch. He tentatively took a seat next to her. "So…we're not going to work on your anger?"

"Think of it this way," She handed him a section of her orange. "Some people do yoga and breathing exercises, and I watch white trash embarrass themselves on television." Her dark eyes slipped to his and she smiled again. Bruce felt his stomach flutter at the sight of it. She didn't seem to notice as she continued, "It boosts my self esteem."

The scientist parted his lips to comment on what that said about her but decided to save himself the trouble. He popped the orange in his mouth. Chewing it absently, he looked to the screen.

After swallowing, he told her, "I didn't know they still ran Ricki Lake Reruns."

"It's a DVD." She admitted. "That doesn't leave this room, by the way."

"Of course," Bruce accepted another slice of orange and leaned back in the cushioned seat, "I'll take it to my grave."

"You better."


	10. Tempting

When Tony finally cornered Coulson, it was, surprisingly, not in the elevator.

It was in the agent's office, and Phil would admit, when Stark came in and locked the door behind him, he was legitimately afraid for his personal well being. And sanity.

They locked eyes as Tony slinked over to the office chair on the other side of Phil's desk. He eyed it with distaste a moment before deciding to just skip it all together and sit on the edge of the desk.

"Get your ass off my desk."

"I'm not sitting in that chair, Agent, you can't make me."

One stern push later, Stark was on the floor and with some grumbling, in the chair. The billionaire pouted, "That wasn't very nice, Agent."

"Next time don't tempt me," Coulson replied calmly. He went back to going over some paper work. "Now get out."

"Not just yet." Tony scooted the chair up to the desk. He rested his hands on it, weaving his fingers together in a business like manner. "We need to talk."

"We really don't."

"We really do," he shot back, "it's about Zita."

Coulson shook his head, unsurprised by his words but none the less annoyed by them. "It always is with you lately."

"Why won't you just submit and confess your love to her like I want you to?"

"I'm not in love with Miss Cale."

"But you could be!"

Phil sighed deeply, rubbing his brow. "What is your fascination with my love life?"

"Not just your love life, Zita's too." Stark corrected. He leaned back and cocked a leg femininely over his other and gestured with one finger for Phil to repeat himself.

"Fine." The agent gritted his teeth – anything to end the madness. "What's your fascination with Miss Cale and my love lives?"

"It's one and the same thing, so technically you should say 'our'."

"Shouldn't you be building something?"

"I'm building your relationship," Tony quipped with an admittedly charming, but insanely frustrating and cocky smile. "You should be thanking me."

Phil stifled a groan. With a deep breath, he asked, "What will it take for you to get out of my office?"

Dark brown eyes squinted calculatingly at the agent. For a few blessed moments, Stark was silent as he considered Coulson's offer. Finally, his sharp malicious grin returned. "Confide in me."

"Beg your pardon?" The agent's brows shot up to his receding hair line.

"Come on, Phil," The man across from the desk began to bang on it with his palms the way one would play the bongo drums. "Confide in me. Tell me your feels."

Phil shot him a sardonic glare. "There is literally nothing I'd rather do less than that."

"Okay then, if you refuse to play by my rules, I'll just have to lock you and Zita up in the elevator again."

"I knew that was you." He went back to his paperwork. "What is your-"

"Fascination?" Tony offered with a more serious expression. "I told you, you like her, she likes you and I think you'd be good together. Someone needs to bring her out of her shell and you've got the perfect prick to do it."

Coulson stared at him. For a long time, that was all he did. Then finally, "Get the hell out of my office, Stark."

"Just listen to me- Zita is like a delicate, virgin flower."

"Oh my god," The agent did groan this time, tossing his pen down and burying his face in his hands.

"And you my good sir, are like a gardener." Tony went on, completely ignoring his friend's distress. His features were surprisingly sober. Coulson suspected marijuana use but couldn't smell any on him so he just kept his head down as the Iron Man continued. "It's your job to nurture and care and feed her until she blossoms in to the normal person I know she is underneath that ugly, ugly windbreaker."

Deciding to ignore the glaringly unsettling expression on the man's face, Phil asked begrudgingly, "But why is it my job? And who says she's not normal?"

"Agent, I know you like her but let's not play coy here; she is the physical embodiment of social awkwardness. I watched her apologize to the coffee machine for not refilling it when she said she would this morning."

Phil blushed faintly on her behalf. "So she's a little eccentric-"

"She's never seen Star Wars. Or Indiana Jones. Any of them, even the new ones." Tony pressed.

"So?"

The dark brown eyes narrowed at him. "I didn't want to have to tell you this, but she had no idea who Captain America was until she was introduced to Steve."

Coulson's head shot up. "You're lying."

"I am not lying. You can ask herself at the party tomorrow." Tony hopped from the office chair. A wide grin stretched over his dashing face as he spoke in an excited, somewhat childish tone. "I sent Pepper over to her place to get her ready! It's gonna be a blast!"

"Sounds great," Phil forced a smile. "Now get out of my office."

"You'll be nice to Zita?"

"I'm always nice to Zita."

"Because you looooooove her." Tony sang, kicking on foot up behind him and batting his eyelashes. "Plus, I know for a fact she likes you too."

Curious, but doubting blue eyes rose to his. "She said that?"

"She said, and I'm quoting here," Stark cleared his throat and carried on in an emfeminate high pitched voice, which surprisingly did resemble Zita's. Phil was both horrified and impressed, but mostly just horrified. "_He blasted a __demigod__ through a __wall__. While __stabbed through the chest__…that's pretty, you know, huge_." Tony's grin widened. "She even refers to you as _The_ Agent Coulson."

A very dark blush crept along the agent's cheeks, along with a very subtle smirk. "She's too young for me."

"She's not that young."

"How old is she?" The agent prompted with a thin lipped frown.

"I have no idea but so long as they're over eighteen they're fair game," Tony rebuffed with a wave of his hand. "If it'll make you feel better I'll look into it. In the meantime, think up some pick up lines and go out and buy yourself a new suit."

"What's wrong with my suit?"

In the apartment across town, Bruce was having a rather surreal experience with Niobe Jemzen. They lay on the couch, Ricki Lake continuing on in the background as the man slowly but surely eased his hands along her sides, coaxing a gasp from the woman's lips.

It had all started rather innocently. They sat, eating oranges and discussing various topics, ranging from the show they were watching to Bill Nye the Science Guy. Some time in the hours they spent together, they had shifted closer; her knees brushed his, eyes never leaving the screen; his foot nudged her ankle which was on the coffee table. Finally her hand found his and the pair sat in silence as Ricki Lake bellowed about cheating husbands.

Bruce had swallowed, nervous as his eyes flicked from the television to the agent. The woman didn't seem to notice. Her full lips were pursed casually, her eyes fluttering softly in the diming late afternoon light. Hesitantly, he pulled his hand away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything," Niobe told him, looking him in the face with no embarrassment or shame on her soft beautiful features. She didn't seem surprised by his action. Maybe she had simply been testing his boundaries or was curious about his response, but the lax smile on her full lips suggested otherwise.

Banner wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He wasn't sure why he was doing this. It was a stupid idea – a potentially dangerous one – but Jemzen had shown no fear towards him in the past hours. Not even caution.

"You didn't." He told her honestly. "I…I don't want to uh, give you the wrong idea or anything, but…"

"I'm not sure what kind of girl you think I am, doc," She offered the man a weak, tired smile and rested her head on his chest. "But I am not fucking a guy in charge of my emotional stability. That's just straight up bad juju."

Her hand fell back to his knee. A content sigh escaped her lips. A smile twitched at his lips as her dark fingers picked at the fabric of his tweed pants. "Then what are you doing?"

"We both suffer from anger issues, correct?"

"Correct."

Her head tilted back to look at him, eyes soft and vulnerable – or at least as vulnerable as he had ever seen her. "Then I propose cuddling."

Bruce chuckled, "Why?"

"Because I want to." The woman replied promptly with a cat like grin. "It'll make me happy."

"And what do I get out of it?"

"You get to hold a woman who's seeking comfort – the most noble use of a man."

He rubbed his eyes and chuckled to himself. He leaned back, taking her with him. "Sounds good."

A hiss of pain escaped her lips as he did so. Bruce froze. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just got a stitch in my side." Jemzen lied, her features taut and slightly flushed.

The man went into doctor mode. "Here, lie on your back."

"Why, doc, I do believe you're being assertive." She joked as he eased her back on to the plaid cushions. His hand was well calloused and firm as it slipped under her head. Her breathe caught in her throat at the intimate touch, but it was not out of fear - quite the opposite in fact. She may have to rethink what kind of girl she was.

Bruce however, was oblivious to these things. He gestured to her white undershirt, "May I?"

She nodded. With careful, knowing hands, it was rolled up to just below her bra. "Jesus." The man muttered, eying the dark bruises that were etched into Niobe's dark skin. "What happened?"

"I'm not allowed to say."

Her voice was quiet, almost sad. Banner gently ran his fingers over the bruises, earning a hiss of pain from her lips. He apologized, but she didn't acknowledge it. There were no breaks on her skin, thankfully, but the bruises were deep and a violent purple on her chocolate brown skin. A spike on anger rushed through him at the thought of someone, anyone, hurting a woman. Much less a woman he was… growing fond of.

His mouth lowered and he placed a chaste kiss to one of them. The skin underneath his lips was hot and moist with sweat as Niobe lifted a foot to rub against his calf. Carefully, he hovered above her, mouth warm as his tongue poked out to trail outward over her ribs to her abdomen. A shudder coursed down his spine as her nails tangled in his hair, one leg coming up to hook over his waist.

"I can't."

His voice was so low Niobe almost didn't catch it.

"Especially not when… if I lost control and you're already injured… you might… might not be able to escape."

The woman could feel every word he whispered against her skin, every light nervous twitch of his hands that were braced on the couch next to her. She was, in a word, relieved. Not because she was afraid of him, but rather because she could barely lay back without becoming a painful mess of spastic nerves. She imagined sex wouldn't be all that fun.

"Hey," She grinned at him, her knee lightly prodding his side, "I don't know where you got that idea, but I just wanted to cuddle."

Bruce smirked at her. She shifted about to make room and he laid behind her. His arm wrapped around her waist, mindful of her bruises as he wove his fingers through hers. When she squeezed, he squeezed back and it was mere moments before the two of them were asleep.

**AN: I am so sorry for the long wait. I hope you can forgive me and know the next couple chapters will come a lot quicker. Also, new poster, featuring Zoe Saldana as Niobe and Louise Brealy as Zita. **


	11. Purpley Red Lens

**A/N: Please note, this chapter is UNBETA'D, so please bear with me.**

Bruce woke up alone.

Niobe's apartment was blessed with the bright clear light of the morning shining through its windows. Her drapes parted from the cool breeze that was wafting through the quiet apartment. Quiet, but not silent. The faint sounds of cursing could be heard coming from the hallway. Curious, Bruce eased himself up. He followed the sound to where Niobe was standing, teeth bared and hissing under her breath as she tried to untangle his glasses from her dark hair.

With a huff, she dropped her hands to her sides. Her head rolled in his direction as she glared at the man. The glasses swayed, but didn't fall to the ground; just hung in place above her breast. Bruce smiled weakly back, trying not to show his amusement. Jemzen's frown deepened at the gleam in his eyes.

"You think this is funny?"

"A little bit," The man admitted, grinning out right now. He motioned her over to him, "Here, let me."

With a heavy sigh and eye roll, she obeyed. Bruce let out a sympathetic hum and began gently unraveling the strands of her hair. To the agent's credit, she kept perfectly still. Niobe shuddered slightly, enjoying the soft caresses as he stroked his pinky absently along her collarbone and set to work. Bruce smirked to himself. The press of her hips against his was pleasant, almost erotic…as were her half lidded eyes on his face. He shifted closer, focusing entirely on her trapped hair. Mostly on his trapped hair. The fact that he could feel her torso against his, her fingers weaving into the belt loop of his tweed pants, were hardly helping him pay attention.

The seemingly simple task dragged on for a few moments before the scientist spoke.

"I think we need better light."

"Kitchen has the best light." Niobe told him, trying her best to look annoyed. "You just had to wear them to bed didn't you?"

With a half hearted shrug, he blushed. "Sorry."

"Eh, you can make it up to me later." Plucking the spectacles from his fingers, she let them fall. They hung perilously, still caught in her hair. Bruce let out a snort of laughter. She waved her hand, "Get it all out now."

The man shook his head, a wide warm smile stretching over his lips. Niobe felt her heart thump in her throat and she swallowed. A small smirk of her own twitched at the corner of her mouth. Shaking it away, she led him over to the kitchen. He followed with a bowed head. The kitchen was, as expected, clean and spacious with new appliances and a tiled floor. The woman hopped onto the counter, which kept her at eye level with Banner as he took hold of his glasses once again. He did his best to ignore the way she framed her knees along his hips.

"So…" Bruce licked his lips, eyes dropping momentarily to her lax face as he spoke, "Tony's having his little, uh, soiree tonight."

"Did you just use the word _soiree_ in a casual conversation?" The agent asked with a hitched eyebrow and smirk.

He shrugged, "Maybe. I was wondering…maybe you'd think about coming. To the party, I mean."

Niobe's brown eyes studied his face carefully a moment. "You know Stark and I don't get along."

"I do."

"And you still want me to come?"

"You're friends with Pepper, aren't you?" He asked, fingers moving deftly to unweave the tangled hair stuck in his frames. Bruce did his best to keep his eyes on his hands and not her curious gaze.

A subtle nod. "I am."

"And, don't take this personally or anything, because I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but you're really different when you're not at work."

"I am." The agent repeated, although it took more patience than she cared to admit.

With care, he finally relieved his glasses from its hold. He slipped them back up the bridge of his nose. A rough but gentle hand smoothed her curls, a faint smile twitching at his lips. In a moment of weakness, Niobe sighed dramatically. That smile would be the death of her, she was sure of it.

"Fine, I'll think it over, just quit with the puppy eyed gentleman act."

"Who says it's an act?" He asked, that casual charm she had spotted in him that first time they met surfacing once again. Bruce twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. "If…you decide to come, I'd be happy to see you. If you don't I'll see you at work on Monday."

"I'll think it over."

Half way across town, Pepper was reconsidering her relationship with Tony. She sat very still, her back ramrod straight as the admittedly tiny but horribly menacing lizard shuffled on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just put him in the cage?"

Zita poked her head out of her bath room, her toothbrush hanging out of her foam covered mouth. The strawberry blonde had shown up just after nine(am!) and she had been caught off guard. In fact she had been sleeping soundly on her couch when the ring came through her intercom. When she bolted up, Ralph Macchio, who had been sleeping soundly between the valley of her t-shirt covered breasts, had been sent flying across the room. The tiny woman still felt guilty about that. Thus the bearded dragon's new perch on Miss Potts shoulder.

"Uh…he just likes people's shoulders. He won't bite or anything, he's just friendly," Zita assured her with a tight smile. "Give me five more minutes?"

Pepper nodded and didn't mention that this was the seventh _five more minutes_ she had permitted the girl- _woman_. Woman of S.H.I.E.L.D. The blonde shook her head. She couldn't really get over that. It was their first meeting, but Zita had welcomed her into her apartment without so much as second thought once the woman told her who she was. She had been cheery and apologetic about the mess(her apartment was littered with magazines, research papers and more than the odd random article of clothing), never once losing her smile or her bounce.

It was cute…and cute was not a word Pepper associated with agents very often. It was in those first few minutes of knowing the brunette that Pepper texted Tony and agreed to be on board with _Mission: Agent and Assistant Are Secretly In Love_. The text she received back was simply a picture of Tony with his arms triumphantly held above his head(with Dummy next to him mimicking the motion).

Finally, Zita emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed in a pair of dark blue tights and a turquoise shift dress with long sleeves. She smiled, embarrassed as she crossed the room to scoop Ralph Macchio off the woman's shoulders.

"Sorry about that." She set her pet gently on the floor and gave his head an affectionate rub before he scampered off.

Pepper seemed mildly disturbed by that. "You're just going to let him have free range of your apartment?"

The brunette blinked with surprise. "Of course! He has a fresh pee mat down and he likes to sleep under the radiator. It's his favorite." When the woman just stared at her, she grabbed a pair of tennis shoes and quickly pulled them on. "So, where did you say we were going?"

The assistant watched her hop around as she spoke in an even voice. "I thought we could get to know each other over manicures. Tony talks about you all the time and Natasha said she'd join us for dress shopping this afternoon."

Zita blinked in surprise. "As in Natasha Romanov?"

"That's the one." Pepper smiled, sensing the smaller woman's unease. "You two work together, right?"

"Not really…but okay, it could be fun." And _horrifying_. The brunette forced a smile at the prospect of spending her day with not just one imposing woman(any woman who could wrangle Tony Stark was indeed, an impressive one in Zita's book) but two. She nodded and tried to remember how to act like a normal human being. "I've never really-"

When she faltered, Pepper stepped in. She had been prepped on the lab assistant's awkward ways and seeing her flounder like a frightened teenage girl made Pepper instinctively want to mother her. "Tony says it's on him and to go all out. To make up for whatever torment he's put you through this week."

"He wasn't so bad."

Pepper shot her a pointed look.

"Okay, he was a little bad, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been." Swiping her keys off the table, Zita offered the woman a crooked smile. "But I'm sure you already know that."

"Oh the stories I have for you." Pepper wrapped her arm around the brunette's shoulders(ignoring the way she momentarily tensed) and guided her out of the apartment.

The ride to the spa was a little bit strained, but once they arrived conversation flowed easily enough. Some of it was horrifying(what one could possibly contract thanks to improperly sterilized spa materials, but after being shown the sterilization process by the manager Zita deemed the place low risk and switched to a more pleasant topic), but it had progressed in to more feminine friendly things.

"So, Tony tells me you're going with Steve tonight?" Pepper glanced at the brunette out of the corner of her eye.

"Hm?" Zita looked up from the book of nail polish color choices and styles and nodded. "Mhm. He's going to keep away unwanted attention and I'm going to school him on all the lingo of modern day people."

Potts blinked. "Oh…who exactly counts as unwanted attention?"

"He thinks I have suitors." The small woman replied. She pointed to one of the nail polish colors. Her blunt nail was landed on an almost clear flesh tone pink. "Do you think this would go with a purply red color?"

Pepper pursed her lips and looked over at it. "Maybe try something with a little more…pizzazz." Her gaze swept over Cale's pale features. "Do you already have a dress?"

"Oh, um, yeah," Zita blushed darkly. "I'm supposed to go to the opera with a friend of mine next month…I got a little excited when I found out and well…"

She shrugged meekly and went back to the colors.

"Is this friend a man?" Pepper asked, a curious dread in her voice that the other woman didn't notice.

"Mhm." Zita tapped her cheek idly as she went back through the book to the dark colors. "I've known him since I was twelve."

Pepper arched a brow. That could put a kink in their plans. "Is that right? And you're just friends?"

The woman let out a cackle. "Of course! I mean, he's a great guy but…he's too…I don't know." She scrunched up her nose. "It'd be…_weird_. And not the good weird."

The blonde chuckled at that, wiping a piece of strawberry shaded hair from her eyes. "Okay, I get it. Any other men on your forefront?"

"Not really." Zita replied. She looked up at her a bit dubiously. "Why?"

"Just curious."

The brunette felt instant guilt for questioning her motives. "Oh, sorry, it's just I don't really date much- never have, don't have any plans to, ya know?"

"I suppose." Pepper leaned over and pointed to a radish color. "That would go great with a purply red."

Zita grinned, this time genuinely, "You think so?"

"I do."

After that they shared stories about Tony and Bruce. Admittedly, Pepper did most of the talking, but Zita was enthralled by her tales. The only speed bump they hit was when one of the manicurists tried to get the brunette to take off her shoes for a pedicure and was shut down. Pepper tried to coax her into it, but the woman insisted she keep them on. From then on she sat cross legged with her feet tucked underneath her.


	12. Panic Attacks and Awkward Conversations

_Natasha Romanov is just a woman. Natasha Romanov is just a woman. Natasha Romanov is just a woman_. Zita kept her mantra up as her freshly painted nails dug into her palms. She tried her best to keep her breathing even as she kept her lips pursed tightly. They were a simple white line on her face.

The women accompanying her noticed her slight shake and anxiety, but didn't know how to respond to it. So, quite simply, they didn't.

"Do you have anything particular in mind?" Pepper asked Natasha. She hoped if the focus was off the brunette, Zita might let her guard down once again.

"I was thinking black."

Pepper rolled her eyes, "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Zita busied herself with a few of the accessories, but got quite the sticker shock when she caught some of the prices. Her eyes grew wide and she very carefully placed the bracelet back as though it was made of glass. Natasha arched a brow at Pepper, who shrugged it off.

"Hey, Zita?"

The brunette looked up, her smile coming on instinctively. "Yes?"

"Since you already have a dress, do you mind helping us out?"

"Of course!" Zita felt a flicker of fear come up once again. It showed on her features, but neither woman acknowledged it. She tucked her fidgety hands into the pockets on her light colored dress. "What did you guys have in mind?"

In Stark Tower, its owner was barking instructions to anyone who would listen. He was ordering food, décor and of course, booze. As much and as lavish as everything he could get his hands on. It had been like that for hours, since near dawn before his girlfriend had even woken up. Had Bruce Banner not wandered in clothed in the same outfit as the day before, Stark surely would've continued on this way. Instead, he stopped mid-rant, pointed a finger at the man in the rumpled clothes and shrieked. Literally. Half the workers stopped what they were doing to see if the cat that got stepped on was alright.

Bruce just blushed and kept walking. Tony followed. He hopped over a couch to meet him in the elevators. Once inside, Stark punched the emergency stop button and started sniffing him out. Literally. After a moment, Tony leaned back, a deep squint in his eyes.

"You smell like oranges and shame. Where have you been?"

"Yeah, I'm not gonna tell you that." Bruce blinked and pulled the button to start the elevator back up.

Tony slammed his hand down on it. "No. Hell no even. Where have you been young man?" Banner reached for the button and got his hand knocked down for his efforts. "You're mother and I were worried sick young man. Missing your curfew is so unlike you, Brucey!"

"Don't call me Brucey."

"Tell me where you were."

"No." He thought for a moment. "It's private."

He should have known that would only infuriate the man more. "Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me!" Tony whined, stomping his foot like a child. "Tell me now! I'll be your best friend."

"You're already my best friend."

The man's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes…don't make me regret my decision, Stark." A smirk twitched at Bruce's mouth. He decided to press his luck since Tony was in such high spirits. He pulled the button. Tony smacked it right back down. This went on for a few minutes before J.A.R.V.I.S broke in.

"Sir? I believe Dr. Banner wishes to leave the elevator now. Shall I let him?"

"Don't you dare!" His maker hissed.

"I'm going to let him." The AI mocked. Once again the elevator began its ascend.

"I'll have your wires used as my kite strings!" Tony vowed menacingly.

"Indeed, sir."

Bruce chuckled and stepped out into the bustling halls. "Where's Pep?"

"Out shopping with Zita and Natasha- don't avoid the subject, who were you with?"

"A friend; wait did you say Zita and Natasha? As in _my assistant_ Zita and The Black Widow? Is that a good idea?" The shorter man suppressed an amused grin as he carried on down the hall with his hands in his pockets. "One time Nat dropped by the lab and Zita hid in a closet."

"Maybe it wasn't the best idea I've had this week, but I figured, why the hell not?" Tony shrugged.

Remembering what he had said about Pepper's relationship with Agent Jemzen, Banner asked, "Why didn't Niobe go?"

"She's in Rus-" Tony's eyes widened and Bruce cursed himself for ever saying anything. "_YOU WERE WITH JEM?"_

"Nothing happened!"

"Oh, you _fiend_… what's she like in the sack?"

The scientist huffed as the engineer began to bounce excitedly next to him. "Nothing happened, I crashed on her couch."

"And?"

"And that's it. We watched t.v for a bit then I fell asleep."

Tony's face dropped. "That was the least epic story ever told, Banner. Even _Twilight_ had more than ten words to it."

"Told ya so." Bruce smirked and ducked into his room. He poked his head out just as the man was getting ready to leave, "Oh, and when she comes over tonight, try not to be, well, yourself to her, alright?"

"Why don't you just pluck the sun from my sky?" Stark asked dramatically, his hand going over his arc reactor.

Bruce rolled his eyes and shut the door tightly behind him. With a smirk, he locked it. He peeled off his shirt as he made a beeline for his bathroom(most, if not all, bedrooms in the building had built in baths). He switched the shower on, letting the steam fill the room before stripping down. He had just stepped in front of the pleasant stream of water when there was a knock on his door. He ignored it.

Outside his room, Tony banged feverishly on the door. "Bruce! Come on, man, I need the scoop!"

"Tony." A feminine voice said from behind him as a cool hand touched his shoulder.

The man whirled around to face his girlfriend. Pepper smirked at him, Natasha mirroring the expression behind her as Tony pointed violently at the door. In a loud voice he announced, "He fucked your girlfriend! Are you really going to let him get away with that?"

"How many times have I told you its no longer appropriate to call Niobe my girlfriend?"

"But she's black."

Pepper heard Natasha sigh in disappointment and she herself had to resist an eye roll. "That's doesn't make it any more socially expectable."

"How'd you know I meant Jemzen anyway?" His eyes narrowed in suspicion, before widening in horror. "She called you!"

"I called her actually."

"Still!" He hissed, his dark gaze drifting to the Black Widow who was smirking widely at him. "And just what do you think you're laughing at?"

"An over emotional idiot." The woman replied in a cool even tone.

"Children," Pepper chided with a small smile. She wrapped her arms delicately around the man's waist. "Play nice."

Coiling his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, he stuck his tongue out at the redhead before asking how their time out with Zita went.

"It was going fine until Pepper made her cry."

"I did not!" The blonde shot back, her cheeks coloring to match Natasha's hair.

Tony arched a brow. "What?"

"She had a panic attack," Natasha explained. "Pepper kept trying to get her naked and she lost control."

"Wait, are you telling me, my girlfriend tried to rape her?" He asked, amusement clear in his voice as he looked at the blonde. "Pep, I had no idea."

"I wasn't trying to rape her!" The woman frowned, annoyance and maybe a hint of shame, in her expression. "I just wanted her to try a few things on-"

Natasha cut in with a stern, "She told you she already had a dress. Three times in fact." The redhead wasn't sure how she felt about the lab assistant, but she would admit to pitying her when the woman had all but bolted from the store. Pepper had wanted her to go after the girl, but Natasha had talked her out of it. "And she told you right off the bat she wasn't comfortable being naked in public."

"Nobody's comfortable being naked in public."

"I am," Tony replied smugly.

Pepper pointedly ignored him. "Besides, she wanted to wear that dress out with her boyfriend."

"Coulson?" The man asked hopefully. This earned an arched brow from Romanov(who had yet to be informed of their plan) and a pitifully sigh from his girlfriend. Upon the latter, his expression fell. "Not Coulson."

"His name is Henry." Pepper told him with a sour pout. "He's in politics."

"Boo." To emphasize his displeasure, he blew a raspberry.

"Mature." Natasha commented dryly. He pouted at her. "Stop that."

Huffing dramatically he crossed his arms, "Why are all the agents so mean to me?!"

Before Natasha could retort, Tony's phone beeped. It was one of the caterers. Who knew it would be so hard to find a decent catering company with only three days notice for a small intimate gathering of five hundred people? With a heavy sigh he slinked off. Normally, Pepper would've done this for him, but as it would seem, she refused to be part of his schemes. At least this one, when she had so much on her plate already and he was being an inconsiderate bastard by even asking her to consider planning such an event. Her words, not his. Tony quickly sorted the catering mess out, then shuffled into an empty hallway to call Steve.

**A/N: Not beta'd, sorry for any mistakes!**


	13. Feminine Apologies

Steve greeted Zita at her door. He offered her a sweet smile but she frowned at him.

"Who called you?" The woman asked bluntly as she fished her keys out of her pockets.

"Tony. Pepper said you had a panic attack?"

Still scowling, she muttered to herself as she unlocked her door. "I don't like being naked in public. In fact, I don't like being naked at all."

"And there's nothing wrong with that." The Captain assured her, leaning casually against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "She and Natasha were worried about you."

"I doubt that."

"Why?"

"Because I barely know them. And they seem nice," or at least as nice as Black Widow was possibly capable of, Zita thought to herself. "But I'm not really the…friend type."

"You're doing fine right now," Steve pointed out, his lips twitching upward but the smile not reaching his eyes. "And you're pretty good at tolerating Tony and Dr. Banner, too."

"That's different." The woman slipped into her apartment, her lizard running up to greet her. She scooped Ralph Macchio up and cuddled him to her chest. Nuzzling her cheek with his scaly one, Zita carried on, "Men are different. Women…I'm not good with women. Besides, Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark aren't my friends. They're my bosses."

The large man sighed and closed the door behind him. In truth, they had discussed this in the past. Zita was a pleasant enough woman, but she seemed to have some trouble when it came to socializing. Steve may have known her on a personal level quite well, but she rarely, if ever, spoke of her youth. Even when asked directly she found a way to avoid it. He often wondered what it was that made her for skeptical about the outside world…but than again, maybe that was that fear that made him relate to her so well.

"I know." He put his large hands on her shoulders and they sunk with the weight. "But you haven't told me why?"

"Women can be a lot more judgmental. At least about…certain things." She tapped her nails gently on Ralph Macchio's rough back. "I've had a lot of problems with women in the past."

Steve sighed. That was all he would be getting out of her. Rubbing his face with his hand, he asked, "You're still coming tonight, right?"

"I-I don't know."

He peered down at her flushed face with his warm blue eyes. They crinkled in concern as he spoke. "I'd like you to come. And I know Tony would."

Her gaze dropped to the floor. Her fingers trailing over her tiny lizard's head.

"He was worried too and not just as your boss." Steve tipped her chin up. The brown eyes meeting his were misty and red. For a brief moment he feared she'd start crying, but she managed to repress it. "Come to night and not just for us, for yourself. You might even have a good time."

"Okay." Zita murmured, her voice strained and tired as she sighed. "Okay, I'll come."

"That's my girl." Steve ruffled her hair, smiling to himself with pride. "You want to catch a movie or maybe-"

"I think…I think I'd rather just get some sleep."

His face fell a bit, but he nodded. "Okay. I'll pick you up tonight?"

The brunette gave him a tight smile and walked him out. "Okay."

She closed the door gently behind him and sighed. Her whole body slumped as she rested her head on the door. For not the first time in her life, she wished she had been born normal. Ralph Macchio twitched in her hold. She let him crawl up to her shoulder. He nipped at her ear until she straightened herself out.

A bit miffed, Zita put her animal down. She frowned at him before going off to shower.

After about an hour of standing under the hot stream, the brunette had calmed down completely. She had vowed to have a good time at the party, even if it killed her(and if her track record with panic attacks was anything to go on, it just might) and at least pretend to be social. For Steve's sake. And Tony's. And maybe her own.

But first she had a phone call to make. With a deep breath, Zita dialed Tony Stark's number.

"Speak." The male voice snapped at her.

The woman felt herself blanched, but gathered her confidence as best she could. "Mr. Stark? I was wondering if I could talk to Pep-Miss Potts."

"Is this regarding your little freak out earlier?"

"Yes." Zita admitted, feeling a hint of shame. She fisted the soft material of the white towel that she had wrapped around her. Her skin gleamed in the bright lights, earning a swallow from her as her boss spoke.

"You're still coming thought, right?"

"Yes, sir."

Tony sighed on the other end of the line. "You don't have to call me sir, Cale. It's Saturday! I'm Tony on Saturday."

"Um, okay, yes, Tony."

"That's my little lab assistant." There was some squabbling over the line. The woman listened absently as she picked at her nails. The color was already fading. Finally Tony's voice came back over the line, haughty and just a touch enraged, "Fine! Brucey's little assistant! The point is I got her to come so I-oh goddamn it!"

Pepper's considerably more docile tone cut him off. "Hello? Zita?"

For a second, the brunette is fairly certain her throat has closed up. If asked, that's why her voice sounded so strained and uncomfortable when she finally managed to squeak out, "Pepper! Hi."

"How are you feeling?" Potts tone is surprisingly warm, especially when one considered how little she knew of Zita.

This of course, only put the lab assistant even more on edge. "I'm fine, thank you. Um, I just wanted to apologize for…totally spazzing out on you and…Natasha earlier."

"No harm done."

"Well, I was wondering if you had her phone number?"

"Who? Natasha's? She's right here."

"Oh. Do you think I could…?" Zita clenched her fist, nails digging into her palms as Ralph Macchio crawled toward her on the couch.

"Of course! Just a sec."

She shoved him away gently. "No." He continued on his course, and after a few seconds of pushing him away from her towel(which he seemed determine to chew on), a voice finally broke through the silence.

"Hello?" Natasha's curious voice cut in. As usual, Zita is somewhat awed by her casual, restrained tone. There is rarely an inflection in the woman's voice and when there is, well, it's time to start running.

After she realized the woman was still waiting for a response, the brunette forced a cheerful tone. "Agent Romanov, um, hi, what's up?"

"Nothing…" There was a lengthy pause. "Is there something I can-"

"Look, I mean, sorry to cut you off, that was rude, but um, I just wanted to you know, apologize. For being such an antisocial freak earlier." Zita smacked herself on the forehead and almost fell off the couch. How dare she interrupt the Black Widow! Was she insane? Suicidal? Demented?

"It's fine. I take it I'll be seeing you tonight."

Zita swallowed, pleased that she was neither crying in fear nor cowering under the couch. "Yes, m'am."

"Good."

There's a click on the other end of the line and Zita went absolutely boneless, slipping off the couch and onto her messy carpeted floor. Ralph Macchio dove on to her back, promptly attacking her towel with tiny claws and sharp little teeth as she buried her head in the soft carpet. Her tongue ran over her teeth absently and the woman flinched as she realized she had forgotten her retainer.

With a moan she tilted her thin frame, forcing Ralph Macchio off her. The lizard scrambled to get back on top, going as far as to latch his tiny sharp teeth onto the hem of the towel. He refused to let go even as she stood and walked back to the bathroom.

At promptly seven o'clock, Steve was at her door. He was in a pair of pristinely pressed tan slacks, a checkered red and blue flannel shirt and had his dark blonde hair parted to the side. His smile was obnoxiously bright and cheerful, but Zita didn't seem to mind.

"I'm running a little late," she warned him.

"I never would've guessed." The man smirked. He eyed her pajama pants before his gaze swept up to the curlers in her dark hair.

Waving him in her with her, she continued to scuttle about her apartment. "I'm sorry! I thought I had more time so I started going through my jewelry, than I remembered I don't have any jewelry, then I couldn't find my watch, then my good shoes were totally wrong for my dress and than-"

During her little rant, Steve wandered over to her dining room and hopped up on the kitchen counter next to Ralph Macchio. He gave the bearded dragon a light scratch on the head and made to take some of its lettuce.

"I got a call from the Director and he was all ominous and then Mr. Stark called and asked if I thought Dummy was competent enough to serve drinks, and I mean, of course he is! He's a little uncoordinated, but he knows how to do a job! He's not stupid! And then me and Mr. Stark got into a fight over who loves him the best, and I said I didn't love him I just liked him as a friend and Mr. Stark-"

The lizard shuffled away from the man. Steve chuckled and looked back over at Zita, who was, in short the human embodiment of frazzled. A few of the rollers had fallen from her hair as she went from room to room, leaving them by the wayside. When she re-emerged from her bedroom, her pajama pants had been replaced with a pair of pale pantyhose with some kind of design on them, but her robe held its place around her shoulders. Steve assumed this meant she was making progress. She was also still talking a mile a minute.

"Is there anything I can do?" He called as she once again skirted into the bathroom.

"Uh, no! I think I'm okay!" She left the bathroom and was back in her bedroom before he could even register what she said. In the minute that passed, Steve listened to Zita mutter to herself about the horrors of being a woman(which apparently included being confused by complicated under wires and shoes that managed to be both simultaneously uncomfortable and impractical) before she finally came back into view.

"Are you done?"

She nodded, tugging down on the raspberry colored lace dress she was wearing. "It's not too revealing is it?"

The dress was high collared and had sleeves that went to her wrist. The hem modestly hit her knee and whatever wasn't covered by the material was cover with her nylon stockings(sans her hands). The man shook his head. "You look great. Wouldn't change a thing."

With a faint blush, she curtsied to him. "Thank you."

"But you've still got some rollers in your hair."

"Oh! Thanks!"

Meanwhile, Tony was completely in his element as he ushered members of S.H.I.E.L.D into his less than humble abode. Most of the agents were a touch wary of Stark's generous act, but nobody mentioned it. A few fleeting glances were shared between them, and most went in to the tower without second thought. Phil Coulson was not one of these agents.

As soon as he entered the lobby, Tony made a bee line to him. The man clapped him on the back and steered him toward the bar, "Agent! So good to see you without the world being in crisis!"

"Who says it isn't?"

Stark jabbed him in the chest as he leaned against the counter. "Don't be a downer. This is a downer free zone."

Phil pursed his lips. Eying the robot behind the bar, he asked, "Is that Dummy?"

The machine bobbed its arm excitedly, happy to be acknowledged.

"Yes, yes it is." Tony told him with a smirk. "Can we get a couple bourbons, over here, Dum?"

They watched the robot moved around a bit awkwardly, but it did manage to get them their drinks with only a bit of spillage. Phil took a napkin from a dispenser, wiped his glass down and asked how long he was expected to hang around Stark's little shindig. Yes, he actually called it a 'little shindig'.

Tony just would not stand for that. Wit a wide sweeping gesture of his arm, he scowled, "Little shindig? Little shindig? Do you know how much effort I put into this? This better be the best damn soiree you've ever been to!"

"What makes it a soiree?"

"The class of people involved and the fact that I said so." The billionaire rebuffed. Sipping at his drink, he told him, "And you'll stay until you've effectively wooed the young maiden Cale."

Coulson sighed mournfully and knocked back his bourbon in one long gulp. Tony watched, impressed, as the man flat out denied him his request. "I'm not wooing anyone, Mr. Stark."

"Fine, she can woo you than." He shrugged casually. "Either way, someone is getting wooed, whether it's you, or Zee, or Bruce-"

"Why would it be Bruce?"

"Because he's a secretive bastard and won't let me in on all the juicy details." Tony dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Oh, and the Lady Cale is on her way right now, with her dashing Wonder Bread Knight.

"Wonder Bread?" Phil repeated curiously.

"White, Agent, I mean pasty, pasty, pasty white." The engineer frowned, "Than again, you're not exactly-"

"Mr. Stark?" JARVIS' electronic voice chimed in. "I believe I was to inform you when Miss Cale arrived?"

"Thanks." The billionaire grinned, "Send 'em up."

When he turned back to the agent, ready to conspire, Tony found him gone.

"Damn it."


	14. Magic Starts With A Big Band

Zita fiddled with the hem of his skirt as Steve ushered into the crowded room. A band was on a make shift stage in the middle of the room, which unsurprisingly was decorated with a green and grey color scheme. The woman's lips twitched in a smile as she realized Tony had taken her advice and hired a classical swing big band. Grinning up at Steve, Zita was surprised to see him bobbing along to the music slightly to _One O'Clock Jump_. With a giggle, she looked back out into the crowd. Most of the people were agents, many of whom she didn't know, but she tried not to let that bother her as her friend shot her a grin. It fell slightly when the Director sauntered up to them.

He nodded his respect to Steve before addressing the lab assistant. "Captain. Mind if I borrow your date for a moment?"

The blond glanced at the woman, who quirked her lips reassuringly, and left the two of them. Fury glanced down at her with a smirk. "Miss Cale. You look lovely this evening."

"Thank you, sir." The petite woman curtsied with a blush.

Fury nodded to the dance floor. Most of the agents seemed to be enjoying themselves and he figured the best way to speak in private was to do it out in the open. Where no one would be suspicious or imposing…plus, he thought the little lab rat could use the push. "Care for a dance? I believe we have a few matters to discuss."

"Of course." Zita took his offered hand. She waved to Tony with the other before Fury guided her to the floor.

Tony, who had been desperately searching for Coulson in the five minutes since he disappeared, shot the pair a puzzled frown but continued on his way. He weaved in and out of the crowd and probably would've continued on his way, had he not stumbled upon the impossible. Niobe Jemzen. In his house. Not only not threatening him, but smiling. Smiling at Bruce. _His_ Bruce. Literally skipping over to them, he wrapped his arm around his best friend's shoulders. While Tony was in his usual_ I'm Throwing This Party So I Get To Be The Prettiest_ suit, Banner had opted for a more casual look of slacks and a sports coat(which the engineer was horrified to see actually had _patches_ on the sleeves like he was some sort of pretentious college professor!), the fact that he was blushing heavily only served to complete the ensemble.

"Hey buddy."

Bruce rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Tensely, he replied with an annoyed, "Hey Tony."

"How're the two of you enjoying each other?"

Niobe rolled her eyes, but a hint of a smirk settled on her lips. "Classy, Stark."

"Shouldn't you be kicking puppies or something, Jemzen?" His gaze swept over her black dress, noting how it cinched at the waist and flared at the hips… and was surprised when it landed on her feet to find her in sparkly pink heels. He furrowed his brow at them as she spoke.

"Shouldn't you be drinking the bar?"

Tony pointed a finger at her. "That's hurtful. Why can't we get along, Jemmy?"

"Because," her dark eyes narrowed at him. "It's 2012 and I don't have a Hoverboard yet."

Both Tony and Bruce blinked in confusion. "What?"

"You can fly around the world with a bunch of prissy little thrusters attached to your gogo boots, but I can't have a freakin' hoverboard?" Niobe asked with a scowl. That was expected, but the fact that her dark eyes sparkled with amusement jarred the man. She shook her head firmly and raised her glass(filled with a flamboyantly pink mixture that made Tony want to giggle as much as her choice in footwear) as she pointed at him. "That's not fair. Not to me and not to the legend of Marty McFly."

"I've never loved you more than I do at this moment." The billionaire told her point blank.

Bruce was slightly disturbed the sincerity in his friend's voice, but didn't comment. Instead, he took another sip from his water bottle as his dark eyes scanned the crowd. He didn't recognize most of the agents, nor did he have any real compulsion to change that. He nodded to Natasha as she steered Clint away from a very confused looking Steve, but made no attempt to help her. Instead, he continued to let his gaze drift. He spotted Zita dancing stiffly with the Director, Coulson trying to slip out of the building(who was being blocked by JARVIS) and a very flustered Pepper trying to coax him back to the party.

"Come on, Phil, don't be like that." The blonde gently steered him back toward the party. "It's only eight o'clock! You can't leave until at least nine."

"And why not?"

"Politeness?" Pepper offered with a grin. "Besides, Tony worked really hard on this and he wants his friends to enjoy it."

The man frowned at her. "Please don't label me that."

"Come on, let's get you a drink." The blonde slipped her arm through his and all but dragged him away from the door.

With a sigh, Phil allowed this. It wasn't like he'd actually be able to escape, not with Tony and Pepper apparently playing for the same team. She led him over to the bar, seated him next to her boyfriend and left him there.

Tony beamed. "Agent. So good to see you again."

"Stark." Phil nodded with annoyance.

"Have you seen Miss Cale this evening?" The billionaire asked with a shit eating grin. He gestured with one finger over to where the woman in question was speaking with the Director. Her animated hand gestures made her kind of hard to miss. A smile quirked at the agent's mouth at the sight, but he didn't comment. Tony didn't let him. "She's had a bit of a rough day, I hear…you should invite her over for a drink. Maybe even a dance."

"It looks to me like she already has a partner," Coulson replied casually.

While it was true, Zita was now being twirled around the floor by Cap, it was another couple that caught his attention. Pepper. And an agent. That no good son of a whore had his hands on his lady's hips, and Tony just could not stand for that. Slamming his drink down at the bar, the billionaire muttered a quiet '_scuse me_ before stomping over to them. Phil watched with a smirk as Pepper rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and the two began to bicker(much to the confusion of the clearly unprepared agent). Snickering, but only slightly, he turned to order another drink. But Dummy had disappeared from sight. With a roll of his eyes, the man shifted his gaze back to the dance floor where Zita and his idol were still dancing. The movements were awkward and gawky on the both of them, but it was endearing in a way. He smirked as the dance ended and Steve bowed. The small woman curtisied in reply and the two were separated by a rather stony faced Hawkeye.

"You're ruining the magic," Clint told them both, a frown on his lips.

Zita tilted her head, but it was Steve who spoke. "Excuse me?"

"The magic." The shorter man repeated seriously. His eyes slipped to Zita, who looked very confused and he nodded to her. "Will you excuse us?"

"Uh, sure, of course." The woman gave her date a pat on the arm and slipped out of the room.

It had been a bit stifling in there anyway, and Zita sought refuge on the balcony. She took a seat in one of the many chairs. Few were occupied, but none in her direct vicinity. A light tap on her shoulder caught her attention. The woman beamed and pushed the chair across from her away as the robot slid into view.


	15. All Rhodes Lead To Coulson

"Zita." Tony slipped into the chair across from the young woman and her robotic friend with a stern frown on his lips. "There are literally hundreds of people here and you chose to spend your night with a robot. What do you think that says about you?"

The brunette paused for a moment to think it over. Finally, she replied, "When they rise up and slay all of humanity I will be spared and possibly worshipped as their queen?"

Dummy let out an excited ding of agreement that put its creator on edge. Dragging his dark eyes from the machine's waving arm, Tony met Zita's curious stare. "…Maybe. But no. It says you have the emotional availability of a soulless machine."

Dummy beeped with offense as the woman flinched.

Tony shook his head, rubbing the machine on the arm as Zita glared at him. "Sorry, guys; but it's true. You need to make friends with people your own species."

"I have friends my own species! What about Mr. Rogers?"

"Uh, news flash, honey, he's not really your friend if you still refer to him by title." Stark whispered in a falsely secretive tone. When she frowned, he went on, "Look. I'm your friend. Bruce is your friend. Pepper…wants to be. You have plenty of friends. Any of which you could be talking to _inside_."

Her cheeks went a faint pink as she stood. Adjusting her dress, Zita straightened her skirt, fixed a stern glare on the man, threw her hair over her shoulder and stormed off. Dummy followed closely.

Tony gaped after the two of them. He did not just get out sassed by the little lab assistant. With an indignant, "_HEY!"_ he ran after them.

Steve and Clint watched as Stark chased down the irate tiny woman, but neither made a move to help them as she began to make her way down the stairwell. They could hear his yelling echo off the walls as they turned to look at each other.

"WE HAVE ELEVATORS FOR A REASON, CALE!"

"What's up with them?" Natalie asked as she sauntered up to the men. Her beautiful features were tight as she eyed the two of them suspiciously. "And how are you involved?"

The second question, of course, was directed at Clint. The shorter man said nothing, just shook his head. When the redhead glared at him, he caved fairly quickly. "Tony looped me into helping him set up Cale and Coulson."

"You too, huh?"

Clint nodded with a sigh. It was than Tony made his reappearance. Flustered and looking as though he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, he approached the group. Very slowly, his face set in stone as he placed a hand on the Captain's back as he looked each of them in the face.

"I lost her."

A chorus of "What?" "How?" and "Why am I not surprised?" met him and he glared indignantly at them. "It's not my fault! She's like a mouse! She can fit into small crevices!"

Natalie sighed audibly and handed Clint her drink. "Hold this."

"What-"

The Black Widow gave Stark a very stern look as her hand collided with the back of his head.

"Ow! Damn it, Romanov!"

Natalie took her glass back and took a dainty sip from it as Steve and Clint snickered. Tony glowered at her. "That wasn't very nice. It's not even my fault! She was hanging out with the robot, man! What was I supposed to do?"

"Respect her wishes?" The woman offered.

"Be nice?" Steve suggested.

"Get her liquored up?" Clint added, most unhelpfully. When his friends frowned at him, he smirked, "What? Always helps me relax."

Tony rolled his eyes at the shorter man. "Yeah, thanks." He pursed his lips, his dark eyes flickering around the room. They lingered on Agent Coulson, who was still being harassed by Pepper and sighed. "Someone put the breaks on the good Agent's escape. I'll be back in a bit."

Again, the man disappeared into the crowd. Steve shook his head soundly, a small almost concerned frown on his lips. "That man has too much spare time."

"I'll look into having Fury give him more missions," Natasha promised, her expression blank and hard. Clint chuckled into his glass as he polished off his second finger of whiskey, but neither paid him any mind. "Or maybe Pepper. She has a better handle on Stark than S.H.I.E.L.D does."

Clint made a whipping noise that confused the Captain and earned a scoff from Natasha.

"Don't be a child."

The man said nothing, just grinned impishly. His gaze shifted over to where Phil was sitting at the bar and without a word he made his way over to him.

Tony Stark was about a minute away from resorting to JARVIS and having his AI find Zita for him. In fact, had Dummy not let out a dull whizzing noise, he probably would've passed her for the third time. Stark paused, looked down and found he could see a flash of raspberry lace peeking out from under the stairs. With a sigh, he slipped between the wall and the stairs and into the small storage area.

The tiny brunette didn't look up. She was huddled in a ball, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. Tony let out a sigh. "Come on, Cale, don't be like that."

She kept silent.

"I didn't mean to upset-" Dummy beeped frantically as the man made to approach her. Stark held his hands up in surrender before taking a seat a few feet from her. "Sorry, Dum."

"Benicio."

"_What?"_

"I don't like the name Dummy." Zita cleared her throat awkwardly. She wasn't crying, but she was close to it. "It's too harsh. I renamed him…Benicio."

Tony's eyes widened in bewilderment. Stunned, he repeated, "_What?"_

"Benicio Del Toro." The woman clarified, much to Benicio's joy. The robot let out a happy whirr and went in circles, narrowly avoiding striking Stark in the face with his arm.

"_Why is he Mexican?"_ Tony shrieked through his laughter.

The brunette shrugged as she cuddled against the machine. "I just like the name. He likes it too. Respect his wishes."

"Okay I-GODDAMN IT!" Tony screamed before tackling her to the ground. The woman let out a shriek as the building shook, the dramatic thunder booming as a Norse god crashed through the roof.

The billionaire winced as alarms began to blare around them, lights flashing and warning of an intruder as JARVIS' ever-calm voice cut over them, asking all those who didn't have clearance to please vacate the premise.

"Um, Mr. Stark?" A small voice squeaked from under him. "You're hurting me."

Tony glanced down at Zita, who was perfectly still and wincing, and quickly scrambled to his feet. "Sorry! Oh god, here let me help you up."

The man pulled her up with ease. She was freakishly light, but considering how she was cradling her elbow, he supposed they had more pressing matters. Tony grabbed her arm, ignored her flinch and carefully inspected the joint. Through the raspberry red lace, he could see it starting to swell, and in a firm voice he told her that Bruce was going to take a look at it.

"That's really not-"

"Zita. This is my house." The billionaire took her hand and very seriously told her, "and in my house, my word is law."

A bit disturbed, she cleared her throat, "But Pepper said-"

"Forget what Pepper said! Now, come on, let's get you some ice."

When they got back into the main room, they found that most of the agents had either disappeared or were now patrolling the perimeter. This, of course, enraged Tony, who had spent too much of his personal time on this party to it to go to hell just because the roof had collapsed because Thor was too good use to a door like a normal person.

When he pointed this out to Pepper, she rolled his eyes at him, prompting him to add, "But you know, thankfully no one was injured or anything."

He then pointed accusingly to Zita, whose shoulder he was still holding tightly to, and asked his girlfriend if she would mind getting the assistant some ice while he went and dealt with the obnoxiously overjoyed Norse God.

"I kind of have more pressing matters to deal with myself," She answered with a tight sarcastic smile as she pointed to the large picture window. Sure enough, a news helicopter was hovering about, trying to catch all the action.

Zita flushed a bright red and tried to back away as the billionaire huffed. His hold on her only tightened as he waved over a friend of his, "Rhodes! Come meet Zita and play the role of babysitter for me!"

The Colonel rolled her eyes but obeyed, gently shaking the brunette's hand. "Miss Cale, so good to see you again."

"Make sure she tries the sundae bar-" Tony ordered him, pointing angrily at his friends, "and don't think I'm going to let that little flirtation go!"

"What flirtation?" Zita asked curiously as the army man led her away.

"Don't mind him," Rhodes assured her, "he's crazy."

Tony shrieked with rage, but the two were too far away to make out what it was he was saying. Instead, he just passed her a bowl and led her up to the sundae bar as instructed. With a smile, he asked, "How've you been?"

"Good! I saw the new design for your suit," She smiled at him, "very cool."

"Cooler than War Machine?"

"I never like War Machine- as a name I mean, too violent."

Rhodes positively beamed at her and pointed playfully as he scoped some vanilla ice cream into his bowl, "I knew I liked you for a reason. And how's Senator McCoy?"

"Busy, from what I hear," Despite the pain in her elbow, Zita managed to get a large helping of mint ice cream into her bowl, because, let's face it, nothing helps the body heal faster than ice cream. Except maybe booze, but according to Tony that was to be saved 'strictly for emotional pain'.

"So, what'd you think of all this?"

"All what?"

Rhodes smirked at her and made a sweeping gesture with his arms, "all of this, Miss Cale."

"It's certainly…something."

"You know why he did this, don't you?"

"Because he has far too much time and money on his hands."

"Besides that," He led her carefully outside, to where Fury was yelling at a very uninterested Thor. Beside them, Agent Phil Coulson was barely containing a smirk and the petite woman fought a blush at the sight of him. Seeing this, Rhodes leaned down to whisper, "he's playing match maker."

Zita blinked with surprise. "Match maker?"

"Mhm." He gave her a little shove outside, "To you and Agent Coulson."

She spun around to face him, but he had already firmly shut and locked the large glass door behind her. Aghast, she knocked on it, "Colonel Rhodes! This is completely inappropriate."

The agent approached her swiftly, hoping to lead her away from where the director was…debriefing Thor. He eyed her angry features with a tight smirk, "What's completely inappro- is that ice cream?"

"Huh?" She cleared her throat awkwardly, "Oh, um, yeah. Mr. Stark had a sundae bar."

"Huh." Phil blinked and gestured to her arm, "what happened to your elbow?"

Pulling it closer to her body, she had just opened her mouth when she was assaulted from behind.


End file.
